FTA: The Palmer Machete Killer

November 6, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Alaska True Crime Podcast, Alaska True Murder, Christopher Rogers, Elann Moren, Erin Rogers, Machete Killer, Murder Podcast, Palmer Alaska, Robin Barefield, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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We’ve all seen the horror movie where a stranger towers over his unsuspecting victim while she sleeps, and she awakes just in time to see him swing the machete toward her head. Imagine if this is no horror movie but a terrible, true event happening as you struggle to clear your mind from sleep and attempt to focus on your survival instincts. Now, what if you know the maniac wielding the machete, and he is someone close to you? Can you fathom anything so horrible? Elann Moren had no choice; she had to grapple with the situation and spring into action. In one moment, her beautiful, new life turned into a horrible nightmare.

Sources

Associated Press. “Another 189 years for Alaska machete murderer.” December 26, 2012. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Associated Press. “Man charged with killing father with machete.” December 4, 2007. MSNBC.

Court of Appeals of Alaska, no. A-10635. Rogers v. State. June 15, 2012.https://caselaw

McKinney, Deborah. “Palmer machete killer’s sentences now total 498 years.” January 11, 2010. Anchorage Daily News.

Wellner, Andrew. “Hero dog done in by tumor.” December 8, 2011. MatSu Valley Frontiersman.

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Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.

Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net

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Murder at the Mayor’s House

October 23, 2024EpisodeAlaska Murder, Alaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Alaska True Crime Podcast, Anthony Richards, Clement Richards Jr., Clement Richards Sr., Jennifer Kirk, Kotzebue, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefielde, Susanna Norton, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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When the Kotzebue police entered a bedroom in a house on the mayor’s property on May 23, 2018, they found the lifeless body of twenty-five-year-old Jennifer Kirk curled at the foot of the bed. A rifle lay across her feet. She had strangulation marks on her neck and a bullet wound under her chin. Even before receiving the autopsy report, the Kotzebue police quickly ruled Kirk’s death a suicide. Two years later, the police were called to an adjacent house on the same property to examine the body of Susanna Norton. They could not so easily dismiss Susanna’s death because the medical examiner ruled it a homicide. Someone had strangled Susanna to death. The deaths of Jennifer Kirk and Susanna Norton, both Inupiaq women, highlight the continuing issue of violence against Alaska Native women.

Sources:

Boots, Michelle Theriault. “’No more silence’: her kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder stunned a town and started a movement. Anchorage Daily News.

College of Health. “Alaska Victimization Survey.” University of Alaska Anchorage.

Dobbyn, Paula. “Victimization of Alaska women staggeringly high and rising.” October 12, 2021. Victims for Justice.

Hopkins, Kyle. “For families in Northwest Alaska, questions remain about unsolved deaths and ‘suicides.’” November 21, 2023. Anchorage Daily News.

Hopkins, Kyle. “One woman died on an Alaska mayor’s property. Then another. No one has ever been charged.” November 11, 2023. Anchorage Daily News.

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FTA: Serial Killer Joshua Wade

October 9, 2024EpisodeAlask Serial Killer, Alaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Joshua Wade, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer, Serial Murderer Podcast, True Crime, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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In one of my last episodes, I profiled Israel Keyes, a serial killer who moved to Anchorage in 2007. Many serial-killer experts consider Keyes to be one of the most intelligent, organized serial killers of all time. He randomly chose victims who lived thousands of miles from his home, and he stashed murder kits around the country, planning to access them at some future date. It is easy to understand why Israel Keyes wasn’t captured sooner than he was. He methodically planned his crimes and always had an exit strategy. He only began making mistakes when his murderous impulses grew too strong for him to control, and these mistakes led to his apprehension.

Around the same time Israel Keyes was active, another serial killer stalked the residents of Anchorage, but the story of Joshua Wade and his crimes is far different than that of Israel Keyes. Investigators consider Wade intelligent, but he did not stalk his victims or plan his crimes. His crimes were sloppy, happened on the spur of the moment, and usually were the result of him losing his temper. The legal system should have stopped Joshua Wade long before it did.

Sources:

Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Alaska Serial Killer Joshua Wade dies in Indiana prison.” June 20, 2024. Anchorage Daily News.

“Convicted Killer Joshua Wade Claims Responsibility for Additional Murders.” June 20, 2014. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Anchorage.

Francis, Monte. Ice and Bone. Tracking an Alaskan Serial Killer. 2016. Denver, CO. WildBlue Press.

“Joshua Wade – I Am Not a Serial Killer – Confesses to 5 Murders.” n.d. WickedWe.

Shedlock, Jezy and Jill Burke. “Authorities: Joshua Wade admits to 3 additional killings.” June 20, 2014. Anchorage Daily News.

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Serial Killer Harvey Louis Carignan

September 25, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska Serial Killer, Alaska True Crime, Harvey Carignan, Minnesota Serial Killer, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer, Serial Killer Podcast, True Crime, True Crime Podcast, Washington Serial Killermurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Harvey Carignan was a vicious serial rapist and killer. He murdered his first victim in Alaska, and she should have been his last because the jury condemned him to death by hanging for the crime. Unfortunately, the sentence was overturned when it became clear a police officer had obtained Carignan’s confession illegally. Instead of death, Harvey Carignan served eight years at Alcatraz and then headed out into the world to prey on more women.

Sources

Azarian, Nash. “Harvey Carignan: Harv the Hammer.” n.d. Serial Killer Magazine.

Krauss, Louis. “Serial killer Harvey Carignan dies in Minnesota prison at 95.” March 16, 2023. Star Tribune.

Rule, Ann. The Want-Ad Killer. 1983. New York, NY: Berkley.

Murderpedia. “Harvey Louis Carignan.” n.d.

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FTA: Serial Killer Israel Keyes

September 11, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska Serial Killer, Alaska True Crme, FBI, Israel Keyes, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer ISrael Keyes, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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“I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I’ll give it blow by blow if you want. I have lots more blow-by-blow

A monster moved to Anchorage in 2007. Israel Keyes didn’t look evil; he appeared normal. To those who crossed his path, he seemed like a dedicated businessman, a doting father, and a loving boyfriend. No one could see the darkness lurking inside him, but by the time he moved to Alaska, Israel Keyes was already a thief, an arsonist, a rapist, and a serial killer. He did not give up these hobbies when he arrived in Anchorage.

Sources:

Callahan, Maureen. American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous
Serial Killer of the 21st Century. 2019. New York: Viking.

“FBI requests the public’s assistance in case of serial killer Israel
Keyes.” August 13, 2013. FBI.

“Seeking information regarding serial killer case.” FBI.

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Abandon Ship: The F/V St. Patrick Disaster

August 28, 2024EpisodeAbandon Ship, Alaska Podcast, Commercial Fishing, Commercial Fishing in Alaska, Fishing Vessel St. Patrick, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, St. Patrick Disastermurder-in-the-last-frontier

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When crew members decide to abandon a floundering ship in the North Pacific in the winter in twenty-foot seas, they know they are unlikely to survive, even when they do everything right. If the captain can send out a May Day, everyone dons a pristine survival suit and seals it around their face, and they deploy and enter a life raft, they still face a long list of things that could and often do go wrong. Proper gear, training, and the captain’s strong, calm, logical voice significantly increase the crew’s chances of survival. The crew of the F/V Saint Patrick had none of these things, and they paid a horrible price for their decisions.

In the mid-1970s through the 1980s, the death rate for commercial fishermen soared to seventy-five times the U.S. national average for deaths on the job, and the mortality rate for fishing in Alaska in the winter peaked twenty-five times higher than the death toll for the rest of the commercial fishing industry. It was nine times more dangerous for an individual to take a job fishing in the winter in Alaska than to become a miner or logger, the two following most hazardous jobs. Strict changes in government oversight of mandatory safety equipment and crew training brought these numbers down. Many commercial fishermen did not welcome new regulations in their industry, but the Saint Patrick disaster demonstrated the necessity of these safety measures.

Sources:

Moore, Anthony. “F/V St. Patrick that sunk in Women’s Bay, Kodiak in 1989 is leaking.” August 19, 2021. Radio Kenai.

Resneck, Jacob. “Kodiak’s ‘ghost ship’ Saint Patrick remains pollution hazard decades later.” September 2, 2021. KTOO.Org.

Sullivan, Toby. “The romance of the sea wears thin – The St. Patrick disaster, December 1981.” November 23, 2016. Kodiak Maritime Museum.

Walker, Spike. Nights of Ice. “Journey of no return.” 1997. New York, NY. St. Martin’s Press.

Walker, Spike. Working on the Edge. Part Four: “The deadliest season: fishing the Gulf of Alaska aboard the Elusive and watching as Tragedy strikes the Alaskan Fleet.” Chapter 8. 1993. New York, NY. St. Marten’s Press.

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Murder North of the Arctic Circle

August 14, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Kiana, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Triple Murder, True Crime, True Crime in Alaskamurder-in-the-last-frontier

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People imagine snow, ice, and bitter cold when they think of Alaska in January, but Alaska is a big place. I live on Kodiak Island in the southern part of the state, and the winter temperature here averages around 35⁰F (1.7⁰C). That may seem cold if you are from California, South America, or Australia, but is not a harsh winter temperature for most of the United States. The following story, though, gives you a feel for Alaska at its coldest. This brutal crime occurred north of the Arctic Circle in January, where the temperature hovered at -50⁰F (-45.6⁰C) when someone shot three men on a caribou hunting expedition and left them to die in their tent.

Sources

Brennan, Tom. 2001. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 3: “The caribou murders.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Francis, Alfred. “Lone survivor says driver of snowmobile did shooting.” January 27, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

“Court upholds murder charge, overturns drug conviction.” June 16, 1973. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

“Defense seeks insanity ruling in killing of 3.” December 16, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

“Johnson charged in triple murder.” January 30, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Supreme Court of Alaska. 511 P.2d 118 (1973). Johnson v. State. Justia.com.

“Trooper investigating shootings on way to question lone survivor.” January 29, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Klutuk: A Hunter of Humans

July 31, 2024EpisodeAlaska History, Alaska Myths, Alaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Klutuk, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, Western Alaskamurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Klutuk is Alaska’s version of the boogeyman – a terrifying character you tell stories about around the campfire. He is a man shrouded in mystery and myth. What was his actual name? Was he tall or short? How many men did he kill? Did he possess mystical powers? How did he die? One hundred years after he terrorized western Alaska, it is impossible to separate truth from fiction.

Sources

Dihle, Bjorn. “Klutuk, the mad trapper of Bristol Bay.” June 6, 2020. Outdoorlife.com.

Heaton, John. “Klutuk: ‘The Man from the Mountain.’” 2015. Guilford, CT. TwoDot.

Hunt, William R. Chapter 18: “Native Legends.” 1987. Norman, OK. University of Oklahoma Press.

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FTA: What Happened to the Fandel Children?

July 17, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Amy Fandel, Child Abduction, Fandel Children, Missing Children, Missing Children In Alaska, Missing Podcast, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Scott Fandel, Sex Slavery, Sterling Alaska, True Crime, True Crime in Alaskamurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Most parents can imagine no nightmare worse than the disappearance of a child, but how can a parent possibly cope when both of their children vanish, swallowed by the Alaska wilderness?

Sometime during the late-night hours of Sept. 5 or the early morning hours of Sept. 6, 1978, Scott Fandel, 13, and Amy Fandel, 8, disappeared from their Sterling, Alaska home on the Kenai Peninsula, 136 miles (218.9 km) south of Anchorage. The mystery of what happened to the Fandel children has baffled Alaska State Troopers for over four decades. How can two kids vanish from their home without a trace?

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A Deadly Cruise

July 3, 2024EpisodeAlaska Cruise, Alaska Podcast, Cruises, Manzanares, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder on a cruise ship, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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If you want to murder someone, consider inviting them on a cruise. With little law enforcement oversight and a fear of negative publicity, cruise ship officials often prefer to look the other way and ignore unpleasantness on one of their vessels. Cruise ship officers have even been accused of covering up murder scenes or pretending missing passengers never existed.

Cruise ships play an essential role in the tourism industry in Alaska. Cruise ships boost the economy of a handful of port towns in the state, and overland excursion packages tied to the cruise lines provide money to many interior regions of Alaska. While cruise ships are not the best way to visit the state’s wild, remote regions, they offer a comfortable, easy way to get a feel for the 49^th state. Many people think cruise ships provide a much safer way to travel, but do they?

When Kenneth and Kristy Manzanares decided to celebrate their eighteenth wedding anniversary with a family cruise to Alaska, they probably looked forward to a relaxing week with their daughters and other family members. Instead, the trip ended in a bloody murder, and by the time the ordeal was over, their daughters had lost both of their parents.

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