Monthly Archives: April 2020

A Deadly Custody Battle



Muriel Pfeil

Neil Mackay was ruthless in both his personal and business dealings, and associates learned not to cross him. When a car bomb instantly killed his ex-wife, Muriel Pfeil, police knew Mackay had planned her murder, but they could not find enough evidence to charge him with the crime. Muriel’s brother, Bob, believed Mackay murdered his sister, and he fought Mackay for custody over Neil and Muriel’s son. Mackay became enraged and obsessed with Bob Pfeil and plotted how to destroy his nemesis.

Bob Pfeil

 

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I have a special treat for you this week. My friend and fellow author and podcaster, Mary Ann Poll, and I are doing cross-over podcasts. Mary Ann hosts the popular podcast, Real Ghost Chatter, and I am a guest on her podcast this week.

In this episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, I tell you the story about the brutal murder of a woman in downtown Anchorage. Then, on Real Ghost Chatter, Mary Ann and I discuss the ghost of this woman who reportedly haunts the Anchorage café where she once had her travel agency. Mary Ann and I also explore some other Anchorage hauntings.

You can find Real Ghost Chatter with Mary Ann Poll at https://anchor.fm/mary-ann-poll

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Sources

An Angry Man. Cold Crime: Brennan, Tom. 2005. Cold Crime. Epicenter Press. https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Crime-Detectives-Alaskas-Sensational/dp/0974501441/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Cold+Crime%2C+Tom+Brennan&qid=1574108038&s=books&sr=1-1

10-19-1976. Dynamite Expected in Car Bomb Killing. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=17887295&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjMxODI2MDE1LCJpYXQiOjE1ODczNDQzNjEsImV4cCI6MTU4NzQzMDc2MX0.mlirb-0MYcf3fN2U6TKpbTm4O59gtNdcfb0BNvDMFYY

Jenkins, Paul. 11-12-1985. Alleged Contract Shooting Victim Dies. AP Press.
https://apnews.com/31a0160ee34f2987548f678d7358cb99

Turner, Walace. 6-30-1987.Alaskan Murder: Enigma Within an Enigma. New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/30/us/alaskan-murder-enigma-within-an-enigma.html

2-7-1988. Jury Acquits MacKay of Murder. AP Press.
https://apnews.com/3a33ee9d7d1837d298e5930405c7d10d

Mroch, Courtney. 10-27-2019. The Ghost of the Snow City Café. Haunt Jaunts.
https://www.hauntjaunts.net/the-ghost-of-the-snow-city-cafe/

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Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.

· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

Follow the link and join the club now!

Become a Patron!

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Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

Join me on:
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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I am excited to have my novel, Karluk Bones included in the Battle of the Books. Enter the Battle of the Books, and you could win a  $500 Amazon Gift Card!


Double Murder at a Kodiak Fish Site



During the summer of 1988, I remember the whispers spreading across the island, first about two missing brothers who were fishermen in Uganik Bay, and later, about the mother of those two men discovering their bodies buried in a shallow grave near their fish site. It was the first double homicide in recorded history on Kodiak Island. Uganik Bay, where the murders occurred, is only 30 air miles from where I live, but it’s fifty miles by boat, a world away on Kodiak Island.

Forty-four fishermen died at sea near Kodiak, Alaska in 1988; it is the deadliest fishing year on record. 1988 was also the year fishermen earned $2.40 per pound for sockeye salmon; the highest price ever paid for sockeyes before or since; commercial fishing proved lucrative but dangerous in 1988.
Alaska fishermen know their jobs involve risk. They work on the North Pacific, often in big seas and brutal weather, but no fisherman expects to be murdered by his crewman.

Sources

Sullivan, Toby. 2016. Sea Stories: Missing brothers turn up dead in Uganik. Kodiak Daily Mirror.
http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/community/article_37f0be0c-485a-11e6-a26e-6ba696185b1e.html

Shepard v. State (2/19/93) ap-1283
http://touchngo.com/ap/html/ap-1283.htm

___________________________________________________________________

Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.

Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Follow the link and join the club now!
Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

Join me on:
Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

LinkedIn

Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.


I am excited to have my novel, Karluk Bones included in the Battle of the Books. Enter the Battle of the Books, and you could win a win a $500 Amazon Gift Card!