James Dale Ritchie - Wikipedia An Indiana man is accused of " catfishing " an Alaska teenager and convincing her to murder her supposed best friend for $9 million with the help of four others. TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Human remains found along Seward Highway near Rainbow trailhead. In February 2017, 37-year-old Brandy Sullivan, an Alaska Airlines customer-service agent who lived in an upscale Anchorage suburb, was allegedly shot and killed by her estranged husband.. The FBI is testing his DNA in a nationwide database that may reveal if he is linked to any crimes in other states, McKinnon said. Anchorage police: Homicide video victim - Alaska Public Media The same year, Ritchie was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for two-year colleges, and graduated from Blue Mountain Community College with an associate degree in science, according to his diploma. In September 2020, a revised facial reconstruction of the victim was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Fox News Flash top headlines for Oct. 17 are here. Alaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start | KRDO Other images showed her being strangled by a man who was yelling at her to die in what sounded like a foreign accent, at one point stomping on her throat. (Anchorage, AK) - On April 22, 2021, thirty-one year-old Randall Igou was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth for Murder in the First Degree. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. The domestic violence-related cases range from amother accused of suffocating her infant daughter,to a man accused of fatally shootinghis son-in-law. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. After human remains were found along a highway just south of Anchorage two days after the memory card was found, police were able to start putting pieces together. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares, from the US state of Utah. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police his role in the plot, saying he chose Hoffman as the victim and he told Brehmer to kill her, according to the court documents. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. "He had a leather jacket on and blue jeans, with a hoodie. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. Cruise Ship Killers | True Crime Network More than a few cases seem to trace back to a personal slight or insult that escalated into violence, said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide unit. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. (Google). "One of the little girls from that room came running out, calling for help, that her parents had been in a fight," one passenger told CBS News. A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a woman aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska, police say, in what has been described as a "domestic disturbance". He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. Missing and murdered indigenous women cold case office - Anchorage, AK 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. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? Or are people just angrier?" 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. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. Read about our approach to external linking. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. According to the bail memo, Alaska State Troopers earlier this year recovered a skull with a gunshot wound in an area near the location Smith later provided. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. Nine months and a long Arctic winter have come and gone since the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 10-year-old Ashley Johnson-Barr in the northwest Alaska hub community of Kotzebue.. Signs . Judge: case of slain Mountain Village woman shows how Alaska's justice Skidmore said the number of prosecutors is rebounding following a reduction years earlier and now includes more than 120 attorneys. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. Slawomir Markiewicz, the Anchorage Police Department's top detective. We still dont know who she is and we dont know much about her," said Thim. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". State lawmakers this year held the public defenders base budget effectively flat, though they included some $1.3 million, or a roughly 5 percent boost, in separate criminal justice legislation that was expected to generate more prosecutions. Last year, Steiner, who was then the agencys director, warned that his attorneys were at their limit and would have to start refusing to handle new cases without a $1 million boost to their $26 million budget. Rodgers went on to kill another man in Anchorage and shoot two others who survived before his 26-hour rampage ended. Resources: If you are facing threatened or actual domestic violence, please discreetly call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Abused Womens Aid in Crisis in Anchorage at 907-272-0100. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. Indiana man enters not guilty pleas in Alaska murder plot Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. The need for nine more lawyers was based on a 45-year-old standard set by the American Bar Association that public defenders annual caseloads should not exceed 150 felonies. Months before the alleged hit . He worked in construction and kitchens, said Marcy, a paralegal. Mystery over woman's murder on Alaska cruise ship - BBC News He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. Do you know this baby? 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. [16], Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole for her murder and three others. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. Homicide detectives began combing through the 39 images and 12 videos on the card, all documenting a horrifying scene of violence against an unknown woman. High winds cause damage, power outages across central Indiana . [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. Police Say A Teen Killed Her Friend After A Catfish Promised Her $9 Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. 32. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Cynthia Hoffman. Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. Police point at recent hiring of new officers as an effort to make the city safer. At one June hearing, shortly before she resigned, the public defender noted she was working a double case load. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. ' said APD communications director MJ Thim. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. Anchorage police think the human remains belong to the woman seen on the memory card, and the medical examiner is working to confirm the connection and the cause of death. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. The motion filed by Walters new public defender, Julia Metzger, cited MacDonalds comments in hearings over the summer, including remarks about the public defender agency neglecting clients and accusing its attorneys of complete abandonment and total disregard of professional responsibilities., Metzger said MacDonald launched into a 17-minute diatribe at a July 18 hearing, during which he predicted the public defender agency might continue to delay the Mountain Village homicide trial until 2020. Nearly a week prior, on Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage Policeclaiming to have "an SD card containing a video of a homicide," according to a press release from authorities. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. In an unusual order, an Alaska judge has declared a crisis in the states courts, saying that turnover among public defenders is delaying criminal trials and denying justice for victims and defendants alike. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. Gardner was a beloved community member, devoted mother and a part-owner of Hilltop Recycling, a long-standing staple of the Chugiak area, according to her family. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. At one point, the agencys seven-attorney Bethel office was down to three, he said. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. 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. Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. Brehmer then enlisted the help of four friends, including 19-year-old Caleb Leyland, 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh and two other unnamed juveniles, to plan and carry out the murder at Schilmillers direction, according to the documents. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. According to Hansen, he persuaded Eklutna Annie to help him winch his pickup free from the mud, although when he began to drive his vehicle free, Eklutna Annie attempted to run. Anna Bill, a former Mountain Village police officer honored by the Alaska Federation of Natives for her advocacy on behalf of Alaska Native women and children, said the homicide was devastating for the victims family. [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]. The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. I don't believe it.". An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. AnAlaska man accused of brutally assaulting and murdering a woman who was seen strangled in videos found ona digital memory cardhasbeen charged with another death, authorities said Thursday. A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder after someone found a digital card containing dozens of videos and photos that authorities say show him beating and killing a woman in a Midtown hotel room. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). data the agency has presented to the Legislature. Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. Her fiance was killed. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. 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. Anchorage police investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2016. The district attorney's office also decided not to pursue criminal charges in the shooting death ofAaron Syvinski, 30, which was found to be in self-defense. A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder after someone found a digital card containing dozens of videos and photos that authorities say show him beating and killing a woman in a. "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". And so somebody who might have been using emotional abuse and threats and that sort of thing may escalate into more physical violence, Pearson said. Passengers describe learning woman died aboard Alaska cruise ship (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Seven Cold Case Task Force offices across the nation, dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, are opening in the next few weeks, one expected to open in Anchorage. Alaska teens charged in 'murder for millions' slaying | AP News According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. He does not look like the young man he portrayed himself to look like, he is not a millionaire and he lives in Indiana, court documents say. Thim said the arrest hinged on two aspects of the investigation: the citizen who chose to call police when they found that card, and the coordination between law enforcement agencies handling the separate cases of the videos and the body. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. 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. An economic thing happening? The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP) Author: The Associated Press Published: 10:58 PM EDT August 9, 2019 Updated: 3:40 AM EDT August 12, 2019 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP . According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. 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. Schauer shot Moren several times, police say, though they have not said why. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The victim was also wearing several pieces of jewelry, including an apparently handmade metal bracelet containing three turquoise stones,[2][8] a copper necklace containing shell beads, a pendant heart, a Timex metal wristwatch consisting of circular links and with a brown watch face, a ring carved from shell jewelry, and gold-plated, twisted metal hoop earrings. Anthoney and his girlfriend moved to Anchorage from Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1985 when authorities in Idaho accused him of raping and brutally beating a twelve-year-old girl at a campground near Twin Falls. McKinnon said police are still trying to piece together what Ritchie did on a daily basis during the months he is believed to have been back in Anchorage. 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. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. The SD card also contained images of the womans body being removed from a hotel room and transported in a black truck, according to charging documents. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com. Of the 34 victims, 14 were under the age of 25. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. Shannon Duke. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. All rights reserved. Incident happened aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship (file picture), Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. "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. All rights reserved. Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. Alaska woman pleads guilty to killing 'best friend' after man catfished April 23, 2021. Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. In June, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr declared a public safety emergency in the state, announcing $10.5 million in funding for village police, equipment and public safety buildings. She disappeared without a trace. According to Hansen, he had first attempted to placate Eklutna Annie as he restrained her, falsely claiming he did not intend to harm her, although she responded: "You are! 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. MacDonald serves as the presiding judge for the Fairbanks-based Fourth Judicial District. After Mr. Mackay and the pilot's sister, Muriel . Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. Murder of Eklutna Annie - Wikipedia In that case, her father was charged with the killing. The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. An update released by Anchorage Police four months later stated they had taken a then 21-year-old named Orion Lind into custody but no charges were brought over Brandon's murder. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. Smith was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for first-degree murder Tuesday afternoon at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, police said in an online release announcing the arrest Wednesday. Gov. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. There wasSelena Mullenax, a young mother studying for her GEDfound shotin a public park on a winter morning. Another factor no one could have predicted: James Dale Ritchie, who could prove to bethe most prolific killer in AnchoragesinceJoshua Wade, though APD is not ready to call him that. Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. But at one of the many stops along the way, a grizzly discovery is made when crew membersfind the widower's body crammed into her own suitcase. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com, Timothy Hoffman, right, father of slain teenager Cynthia Hoffman receives support from Edie Grunwald, left, who's son David Grunwald was murdered in Nov. 2016, as they entered a Superior courtroom for the arraignment of Cynthia's murder suspects in the Nesbett Courthouse on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2007, she had been severely injured when her fiance's son,Christopher Erin Rodgers, attacked the couple with a machete at their Palmer home. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. Ritchie, the 40-year-oldkilled in a downtown shootout with policeafter he wounded an officer in an encounter early Nov. 12, is the prime suspect in the deaths of five people in 2016, APD said. Deadliest state: For women in Alaska, rape and murder are too common According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. Making the decision to leave, to start the processes for divorce or anything like that, that definitely would escalate the situation and increase lethality for that victim, Pearson said. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. But he added that those specific failures were symptoms of broader dysfunction, like public defender and prosecutor jobs going unfilled because of obstacles to recruitment and retention, as well as travel restrictions. That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. Brian . Eklutna Annie is still unidentified, despite her face being reconstructed in both 3-D and 2-D.[4][23] Several missing women are believed to have also been murdered by Hansen.

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