Tag Archives: Alaska True Crime

Brilliant but Violent: The Birdman of Alcatraz



Alcatraz prison in California, built on a small, rocky island in the Bay of San Francisco, operated from the time of the US Civil War in the 1860s until it was closed in 1963. The island’s remote location made it the perfect site for a prison, but this location also made it expensive to maintain, and the cost of maintenance finally led to its closure. During the years it operated, Alcatraz housed many infamous prisoners including Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, but the one prisoner whose nickname is synonymous with the prison is The Birdman of Alcatraz.

Why am I telling you about Alcatraz and its prisoners? Because this episode is about Robert Stroud, better known as the Birdman of Alcatraz. You may not associate Stroud with Alaska, but he was originally incarcerated for a murder he committed in Juneau. Robert Stroud spent 54 years in prison, and he was in solitary confinement for 42 of those years. He is one of Alaska’s most famous criminals.


Sources:

Bovsun, Mara. November 10, 2019. “Justice story: How the ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ soared to fame.” New York Daily News.

Brennan, Tom. 2001. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 4: “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Ott, Tim. August 20, 2020. “Robert Stroud.” Biography.

“Robert Franklin Stroud.” n.d. Murderpedia.

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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.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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The Serial Killer Who Hid in Alaska



Retirees Robert and Dagmar Linton eagerly embarked on a long-planned camping trip in the Pacific Northwest, and they promised their children they would be careful. The Lintons did not express any concerns about their journey, but Dagmar ensured their wills and affairs were in order before they left home. Was she just cautious, or did she have a premonition that something terrible would befall them? Her son and daughter would always wonder whether their mother had concerns, and they would never know exactly what had happened to their parents.

Sources:

Charles T. Sinclair. Murderpedia.

“Devil’s Den.” Season 2, Episode 3. Ice Cold Killers.

McMillan, Penelope. “Suspect in murder spree takes secrets to the grave: serial killings: detectives are convinced the man who died in Alaska cell left trail of bodies across west.” November 23, 1990.  Los Angeles Times.

Smith, Pete. 1-18-2016. “2015 coin shop murders add to a long list of tragic ends for the hobby.” January 18, 2016. Coinweek.com.

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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.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

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Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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Did Newton Lambert Murder the Benolkens?



Who brutally raped and murdered James and Anne Benolken in their Juneau apartment in 1982? Nearly four decades later, many questions remain unanswered.

Sources

Starr, Douglas. 12-1-2013. Do police interrogation techniques produce false confessions?

Episode 4: The Benolken Murders, the police investigation and Special Agent Malone
Leo Helmar. Murder Alaska

Episode 2: Introduction to the Benolken Case. Available at:

Episode 3: About the brutal murders of James and Anne Benolken in Juneau, Alaska in 1982

Who Really Murdered the Benolkens? KTOO Public Media

Juneau man wants DNA tested, seeks review of nearly 30-year old homicide conviction. KTOO Public Media.

Integrity of preserved evidence from Benolken double homicide is questioned

Court to issue opinion on possible DNA testing in decades-old Juneau homicide. KTOO Public Media. Matt Miller.

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) The Alaska Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling denying DNA evidence in the case of Newton Patric Lambert Friday Saturday, November 17th, 2018 8:13

Who is Michael P. Malone? Corrupt F.B.I. Agent’s Testimony Sent Innocent Man to Prison; Donald Eugene Gates was Convicted of Rape-Murder He Did Not Commit.

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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FTA: Where’s Joe?



The endless supply of larger-than-life characters in Alaska makes the state fertile ground for reality television shows and movies based on true stories. If you made a list of the strong, fascinating individuals in the history of this vast state, though, Joe Vogler would rank near the top. Picture a sharply dressed man, wearing a fedora, a bolo tie, and a plaid flannel shirt while he stands in front of a group of rowdy people and proclaims his controversial opinions in a booming voice.

Joe Vogler developed a large following of folks who agreed with his politics, but he also made many enemies. When he disappeared from his remote home, people wondered if an enemy had killed him, or if the murderer was someone who claimed to be his friend and colleague?

Sources

Brenan, Tom. Cold Crime. 2005. Epicenter Press. Death of a Maverick.

Coppock, Michael. “On Joe Vogler, an independent Alaska.”March 14, 2008. Juneau Empire.

Ice Cold Killers. Season 2, Episode 6. “Guns, Gold, and Murder.”

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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The Demise of Soapy Smith



Why do we romanticize historical outlaws and con artists? It is difficult to write about Wild West outlaws because the myths surrounding them bear little resemblance to the truth. Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith was one of those characters. Smith often donated money to good causes, but he earned that money by cheating and robbing people. When he relocated his criminal enterprise to Skagway, Alaska, during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, the citizens soon grew weary of his cons and threats. The animosity led to a confrontation and a shootout, and soon, Jefferson Smith’s life ended, and the legend of Soapy Smith began.

Sources

Charles River Editors. Soapy Smith: The Life and Legacy of the Wild West’s Most Infamous Con Artist. 2019. Independently Published.

History.com Editors. “Conman ‘Soapy Smith’ Killed in Alaska.” November 16, 2009. History.

Sauerwein, Stan. Soapy Smith: Skagway’s Scourge of the Klondike. 2005. Alberta, Canada. Altitude Publishing Canada, Ltd.

Smith, Jeff, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, 2009, Juneau, Alaska. Klondike Research.

Spude, Katherine Holder. “The Fiend in Hell.” Soapy Smith in Legend. 2024. Norman, Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma Press.

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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Easier than Divorce



Sitka, Alaska

We all know married couples who seem to thrive on discord. These are the people we avoid joining for dinner and the ones in whose presence we squirm as they argue, yell, and threaten. We wonder why they got married, and if they divorce, we’re certain no one else would want either one of them. Still, I’ve met couples who not only manage to survive their contentious relationships but enjoy sparring with their partners. Marriage is hard, but most of us try, at least for a while, to make a relationship work, and if it doesn’t work, we leave and go our separate ways. Jane and Scott Coville constantly fought, even before they moved to Alaska and married, but Jane did not divorce Scott; there was no need to sever ties with him because Scott conveniently disappeared. Did he grow disillusioned with Jane, marriage, and life in Alaska? Did Scott take off on his own for an adventure somewhere else, a place far away from his current responsibilities, or did something much more sinister happen to Scott Coville?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman. 11-22-2017. Small Town Murder Podcast #45. The Hottest Cold Case Around in Sitka, Alaska. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/small-town-murder/e/52324451?autoplay=true

Scott Michael Coville. The Charley Project. http://charleyproject.org/case/scott-michael-coville

Grove, Casey. May 31, 2016. Mother in cold case describes years wondering about her son. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/mother-cold-case-describes-years-wondering-about-her-son/2010/11/28/

Jane Reth. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/female.R/r/reth-jane.htm

Sitka, Alaska. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitka,_Alaska

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

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Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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Murder in the Bering Sea



On March 22, 1990, the Aleutian Enterprise, a one-hundred-and-forty-three-foot factory trawler, rolled over and sank in the Bering Sea. Nine crew members died, and twenty-two others barely escaped. The incident happened because the owners and managers of Arctic Alaska Seafood put profits above safety and the crew’s lives on their processing ships. Their actions – or inactions – were nothing short of murder.

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

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Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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FTA: Murder on Shuyak Island



Continue reading FTA: Murder on Shuyak Island


The Abduction of Mandy Lemaire



A family moved to a small Alaska village because the parents believed it would be a safe environment where they could raise their children. Then, the unthinkable happened. Eleven-year-old Mandy Lemaire only had to walk a short distance to her girlfriend’s house, but when she didn’t arrive, the entire village began searching for her.

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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

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FTA: Guilty but Mentally Ill



It took a horrible murder for Alaska to revise its statutes for the criminally insane from some of the most lenient sentencing laws in the country to the strictest laws in the U.S. for the insanity defense.

On the night of May 3, 1982, one veteran Anchorage police officer was quoted as saying, “This has got to be one of the grisliest nights I’ve ever seen.” Within an hour, seven people lost their lives. Three died in the Black Bull bar in the Muldoon section of Anchorage, and the other four were shot in Russian Jack Springs Park in East Anchorage. At first, investigators wondered if the two crime scenes were connected, but they soon learned nothing linked the two horrific events.

Sources

Ice Cold Killers Season Two, Episode One: Blood Red Sun.

 Brennan, Tom. 2001. By Reason of Insanity. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press.

 Murderpedia, Charles L. Meach III.

New York Times (1982), New Law on Insanity Plea Stirs Dispute in Alaska.

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MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE

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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

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Amazon

Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is 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! Visit the Store