Many of the victims were young. Police point at recent hiring of new officers as an effort to make the city safer. TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. He isnow charged with murder. Officials allege they destroyed some of Hoffmans clothing, purse and cellphone, and Brehmer texted Hoffmans family to let them know they dropped her off at Polar Bear Park in Anchorage. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. Marcytook every votive candle she could find in her house, plus a piece of Christmas pie in plasticwrap, to leave as an offering at a makeshift altar another corner of Anchorage turned into an impromptu memorial for a person killed in 2016. Corrections:This article originally incorrectly stated that a homicide had taken place in the Kempton Hills subdivision in 2016. (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). "He had a leather jacket on and blue jeans, with a hoodie. On that day, close to midnight, 48-year-old Charles Doubek called 911 and told dispatchers his wife had been shot, according to a version of events relayed in an affidavit by Alaska State Trooper investigator Jason Fieser. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. CALIFORNIA MAN KIDNAPPED GIRL, 17, WHO WORKED WITH PALS TO NAB HIM IN THEIR OWN UNOFFICIAL OPERATION: COPS, There are 39 images and 12 videos on the card, according to a charging document filed by the Alaska Department of Law. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. More officers on the streets as with arecently addeddowntown foot patrol,members of which made an arrest in Moren's murder onChristmas Eve make streets safer. Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). 32. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Nancy Furlow . Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had last been seen by them in July 2018. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. Alaska copscharged an Anchorage man with murderTuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly capturedthe suspectassaulting and killing a woman whose remains were recently discoverednear a highway. His hair was long. Doubek slept downstairs. But I feel that in the air.". A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. All rights reserved. According to the Violence Policy Center, Alaska ranked number one in murder of women by men in incidents where there were one victim and one offender from 2014 through 2018. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. [n 2], The remains of Eklutna Annie are interred at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, under a marker reading "Jane Doe / Died 1980".[21][22]. "Because of his knowledge other students identify him as a potential source of aid but may have been intimidated by his high level of self confidence," the letter said. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Clayton Andrew Charlie, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a groundskeeper at the Alaska Zoo, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. Police were able to identify Smith, a native of South Africa, from the video after recognizing him from a separate, unspecified investigation, in part because of his accent. But the same weapon found on Ritchie at the time of his death an uncommon, vintage Colt Python .357 was used to kill four other people in a two-month span: Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, on the Ship Creek Trail July 3, and Bryant "Brie" De Husson, 25, and Kevin Turner, 34, at Valley of the Moon Park on Aug. 28. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? (Bill Roth / ADN). Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Even after that request was granted, Steiner said at a legislative budget hearing in March that he needed at least nine more lawyers, on top of an existing staff of roughly 75 criminal attorneys, to fulfill the agencys constitutional obligations. He also told officials Brehmer communicated with him throughout the murder, and sent Snapchat photographs and videos of Hoffman while bound and then after the murder. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. Or are people just angrier?" Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. "She sounded pretty desperate, but the crew came up as quickly as they could", he said, adding that the incident occurred on the 9th floor of the 19-deck ship. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. In the Lower 48, gangs are more organized and act as outside-the-law businesses, pushing drugs and weapons in defined territories. [9][12] She stood between 4 ft 11 in and 5 ft 3 in, and her hair color ranged from light brown to strawberry-blond. Smith is originally from South Africa. Smiths wife of five years, Stephanie Bissland, told KTUU on Oct. 10 that Smith was a good husband, and she did not believe the allegations against him. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. Detectives arrested Smith at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to APD. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . The judges order describes a disparity in the next phase of the criminal justice system the one that begins after a suspect is arrested and the clock starts ticking toward a timely resolution for defendant and victim. Last Monday, Sept. 30, a woman called police dispatch to report that shed found an SD card containing a video of a homicide on the ground, police said. In September, the death of a man in the middle of a busy intersectionshut down anelementary school and a middle schoolwhile police investigated the killing. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. What science tells us about the afterlife. This is a truly horrific case that is not the norm for our community, Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said at a news conference, the Anchorage Daily News reported . She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. Troopers arrived hours later and interviewed Walters, who admitted to beating Queenie, his 22-year-old girlfriend, with his fists and a broom handle. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. Resources can be found by calling Alaska 211 or visiting the State of Alaskas website to find treatment options. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Iditarod, the world's most famous sled dog race, starts Saturday with a fan-friendly ceremonial run through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. He was returning to Anchorage, where he lives, Thim said. People were shot to death at a gas station, in a beloved park in the heart of the city, on a scenic beach where people go to look at the mountains. Paula Zorawski,answered her front dooronly to be shot in the face by people, Anchorage police believe, were hoping to rob her son of marijuana. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com. According to the charges, his mother called to report the attack and Walters fired a shotgun when two Village Police Officers attempted to approach him. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). The remarks by the veteran judge came in a 37-page order to delay the murder trial of Alexie Walters, a man accused of beating his girlfriend, Gertrude Queenie, to death in 2017 in Mountain Village, on the Yukon River in Southwest Alaska. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. Eklutna Annie is the name given to an unidentified murder victim whose body was discovered in a wooded area, one mile south of South Eklutna Lake Road in Eklutna, Anchorage, Alaska, in July 1980. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. According to court papers, the group went off trail and followed a path to the bank of the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound, shot and thrown into the river. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill.