The Chulitna Charmer

October 27, 2019EpisodeChulitna, Murder in Alaska, Murder in the Last Frontier, Paul Stavenjord, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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People move to the Alaska wilderness either because they enjoy solitude and crave a subsistence lifestyle or because they wish to escape society. People who fall into this second category are either misfits who don’t know how or don’t want to blend in with others, or they are criminals, seeking to escape arrest and hoping to disappear into the vast wilderness. Many of my episodes have dealt with individuals who ran to Alaska from a life of crime elsewhere. They might have hoped to turn their lives around but instead, most brought their problems and psychopathic tendencies with them.

Until Memorial Day weekend in 1997, Paul Stavenjord seemed to have succeeded at escaping his criminal past, but then something in him snapped, leaving two people dead and forever altering the course of Stavenjord’s life.

Sources:

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, Episode 3. Mountain Man

Brennan, Tom. 2003. The Bank Robber Next Door. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press

Stavenjord V. State: Available at: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ak-court-of-appeals/1436854.html

Convicted murderer’s appeal denied. Available at: https://www.frontiersman.com/news/convicted-murderer-s-appeal-denied/article_036c56da-e079-5f2d-b30f-692794ae1d34.html

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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.

The Tanana Tragedy

October 13, 2019EpisodeAlaska State Troopers, Alaska State Troopers Murdered in Tanana, Arvin Kangas, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murdered Troopers, Nathanial Kangas, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Trooper Gabe Rich and Sgt. Scott Johnson

You might be familiar with the recent National Geographic documentary series, Alaska State Troopers. The show followed several troopers from different areas of the state as they made their daily rounds. Two of the troopers featured on the show were Sergeant Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Gabriel “Gabe” Rich. Both men worked out of the Alaska State Troopers’ Fairbanks Rural Service Unit. A camera crew was not with the men on the fateful day of May 1st, 2014.

Other than federal officers, the Alaska State Troopers are the most geographically extended peace officers in the country, and they have little if any backup. The state of Alaska is 1/5th the area of the entire lower 48, and only 1300 troopers patrol this area. Cities and larger towns have local police officers, but they only patrol within the city limits. Those 1300 troopers patrol most of the rest of the state.

Many Alaska Native villages are too small to have a trooper post, so they hire a Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO). The Alaska State Troopers manage the VPSO program, and VPSOs are state-trained peace officers hired to carry out basic police tasks in the villages. The VPSO maintains close contact with the troopers, and if a situation escalates, he or she will call the nearest trooper post and request assistance. Troopers then fly to the village and take command of the situation. When the troopers arrive in a remote village, they are uncertain of what to expect and know backup is at least one and possibly several hours away from them. They have difficult jobs, and as this story will show, the job of a trooper can be extremely dangerous.

Sources:

Arvin Kangas sentenced in case related to Alaska State Trooper killings. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/arvin-kangas-sentenced-in-case-related-to-alaska-state-troopers/article_3e239ce2-52a4-11e5-8ffc-8fe41e0bebe8.html

Kangas found guilty of evidence tampering in Alaska State Trooper deaths. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/kangas-found-guilty-of-evidence-tampering-in-alaska-state-trooper/article_7ba83be0-e9f9-11e4-9abf-bf2f6471558d.html

Courtroom tenses as Nathanial Kangas murder trial gets underway. Available at: http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/courtroom-tense-as-nathanial-kangas-murder-trial-gets-underway/article_fffdbe58-1629-11e6-ad25-1b984e65b3c5.html

Pilot describes scene in Tanana minutes after troopers killed. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/pilot-describes-scene-in-tanana-minutes-after-troopers-killed/article_ea505d94-170b-11e6-8ac3-9bbc373de2ef.html

Man convicted in Tanana trooper killings sentenced to 203 years in prison Available at:
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2016/11/03/man-convicted-in-tanana-trooper-killings-sentenced-to-203-years-in-prison/

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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.

Bizarre Murder of a Floatplane Pilot

September 29, 2019EpisodeAlaska, Duryea, Murder in Alaska, Murder of a Bush Plane Pilot, Robert Feather murder, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Anchorage, Alaska is the small plane capital of the world, and flying in Alaska is a thrilling experience where you can view spectacular scenery and reach remote lakes, rivers, and stretches of wilderness that are inaccessible by road. For the commercial pilots who fly these small planes, though, the job can be stressful at times, and they must depend on their skills and common sense. Every year, small plane crashes make the news in Alaska, and sadly, I have known too many pilots who have been injured or killed in crashes. Pilots know their jobs can be dangerous, and commercial pilots are sometimes pressured by their passengers or bosses to fly in marginal weather conditions. The weather might be beautiful in the morning when the pilot leaves base, but he knows conditions can change quickly and weather patterns often vary from one mountain pass to the next. Commercial pilots in Alaska have a tough job, but near the bottom of a pilot’s list of concerns is the fear he will be murdered on the job. After all, who would want to kill his pilot?

I imagine when pilot Robert Feather headed to work at JayHawk Air on the morning of May 15th, 1993, he did not consider he might be murdered by one of his passengers. Maybe he worried about weather conditions or perhaps he was concerned about a strange noise he heard in the plane’s engine the previous day, but murder would not have crossed his mind. Later that afternoon, when a passenger fired a single shot at him, Robert Feather did not have time to think about anything. Within seconds, bullet fragments hit him in the head and killed him.

Sources:

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR CROSS SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Available at: https://www.acluak.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/duryea_v._alaska_decision.pdf

Duryea v. State November 17, 1999, WILLIAM E. DURYEA, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF ALASKA, APPELLEE. Available at: http://ak.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19991117_0042378.AK.htm/qx

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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.

The Murders at Manley Hot Springs

September 15, 2019EpisodeManley Hot Springs, Michael Silka, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder at Manley Hot Sprins, Murder in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Manley Hot Springs, located 160 miles west of Fairbanks, marks the end of the road, where civilization meets wilderness, and the boat landing in Manley Hot Springs offers the last portage for fishermen, trappers, and wanderers to launch their boats and travel further up the icy Tanana River. Because the road ends in Manley, residents admit they see their share of drifters and people trying to escape from somewhere or something. When Michael Silka arrived in Manley on Monday, May 13, 1984, folks accepted him as another straggler searching for a new life. They should have been terrified. Michael Silka was about to forever change sleepy Manley Hot Springs.

Sources:

Ice Cold Killers: Season 1, Episode 5: Frozen Carnage

Tactical Life. Michael Alan Silka and the Firefight at Manley. Available at: https://www.tactical-life.com/lifestyle/military-and-police/firefight-at-manley/

Michael Silka -Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Silka

Michael Alan Silka Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/silka-michael.htm

Murder at 40 Below: Manley Hot Springs Murders

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Congressmen Hale Boggs and Nick Begich Disappear in Alaska

September 1, 2019EpisodeAirplane crashes, Airplanes in Alaska, Alaska, Congressmen Hale Boggs and Nick Begich Disappear in Alaska, Hale Boggs, Nick Begich, Robin Barefieldmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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On October 16th, 1972, a Cessna 310 with the tail number N1812H operated by Pan Alaska Airways disappeared somewhere between Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska. The plane was piloted by Don Jonz, 38, the chief pilot for Pan Alaska. Jonz was a military veteran with more than 17,000 hours of flight time. The passengers on the plane were Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, 40, his aide Russell Brown, 37, and Louisiana Congressman Hale Boggs, 58, the U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader. The three men were planning to attend an election rally for Begich in Juneau.

Was the disappearance due to an accident or something far more sinister?

References include:

Forty years ago yesterday, Hale Boggs, a powerful Democratic congressman with a colorful past, disappeared in a small plane over Alaska

New Details Uncovered in 1972 Disappearance of Congressman Hale Boggs

Hale Boggs’ Plane Vanishes in Alaska: Oct. 16, 1972

Author Writes About Disappearance of Plane Carrying Hale Boggs 43 Years Ago Over Alaska

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

The North Pole Murders

August 18, 2019EpisodeAlaska, Fairbanks Serial Killer, Murder in Alaska, North Pole Serial Killer, Robin Barefield, Thomas Richard Bundaymurder-in-the-last-frontier

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After a string of closely spaced murders of young women near Fairbanks in the late 1970s and early 80s, the abductions and murders stopped. Troopers didn’t believe the vicious killer had suddenly quit murdering young women, but they thought the predator had moved somewhere else. Unfortunately, at the time, they had no database to track the killer’s movements beyond Alaska. Only the deductive reasoning and hard work of seasoned investigators traced the monster four thousand miles to his new hunting grounds.

The Newman Family Murders

August 4, 2019EpisodeMurder, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Newman Family Murders, Robin Barefield, True Crimemurder-in-the-last-frontier

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This episode covers the 1987 murders of a mother and her two daughters. This crime angered and terrified Anchorage residents, and they wondered who could commit such a brutal act, and would he strike again?

For More Information about the Newman murders:

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The Hunter: Serial Killer Robert Hansen

July 21, 2019EpisodeAlaska, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder in Alaska, Robert Hansen, Robin Barefield, Serial Killermurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Investigators believe Robert Hansen murdered at least thirty women in Alaska between 1971 and 1983. With some of his victims, Hansen brutally raped them and then told them to run while he hunted them down as if they were big game trophies.

The Murder of Sophie Sergie

July 7, 2019UncategorizedDNA, Familial DNA, Murder in Alaska, Sophie Sergie, True Crimemurder-in-the-last-frontier

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In the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, 1993, someone brutally raped, stabbed and shot Sophie Sergie in a college dorm on the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Several hours later, a janitor discovered Sophie’s body stuffed in a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom in the dorm. No one saw or heard anything. Sophie’s case soon went cold and remained cold for the next 18 years. Would her murder ever be solved?

Sources include:

25 Years After Sophie Sergie Was Found Dead in a UAF Bathtub, Maine Man Charged with Murder: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/02/16/25-years-after-a-woman-was-found-dead-in-a-uaf-bathtub-alaska-state-troopers-make-an-arrest/

Death in Bartlett Hall: http://www.uafjournalism.com/extreme/index.php/sophie-sergie-murder/46-investigatorrevisitssophie-sergiemurderrder-of-sophiesophie-sergiemurder

26 Years After Woman Found Dead in College Dorm Bathtub, Police Arrest Suspected Killer: https://pressfrom.info/us/news/crime/-246837-26-years-after-woman-found-dead-in-college-dorm-bathtub-police-arrest-suspected-killer.html

Budget Cuts Would Eliminate Alaska Cold Case Unit: https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/article/ast-cold-case-investigation-unit-be-cut-current-state-budget/2015/04/09/

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter.

The Investor Murders: Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder

June 23, 2019Uncategorizedmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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What happened on the F.V. Investor on a September night in 1982 in the sleepy village of Craig, Alaska? By the time investigators extinguished the flames on the burning vessel, the remains of eight people had been reduced to little more than bone fragments. Who committed this violent crime, and what was the motive?

_____________________________________________________ Just Released: Karluk Bones

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Just Released: Karluk Bones