Tag Archives: True Crime Podcast

Mysterious Murderer William Dempsey

November 20, 2024EpisodeAlaska History, Alaska Murder, Alaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Alaska True Crime Podcast, Deputy Marshal Isaac Evans, Marie Lavor, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, True Crime Podcast, William Dempseymurder-in-the-last-frontier

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What was his name? How old was he? Where did he come from? What happened to him? These are a few of the questions concerning the man known as William Dempsey. Eyewitnesses saw him murder Deputy U.S. Marshal Isaac Evans, and a jury convicted him of killing Marie Lavor, but did he murder others? Was he a young man named William Dempsey, as he claimed, or did he steal the real William Dempsey’s identity? One hundred years later, these questions continue to elude historians.

Sources

Herron, Charles.”Charles E. Herron questions arch-fiend and obtains inside information on Lavor murder.” September 6, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 1.” February 3, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 2.” March 23, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 3.” March 30, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 4.” April 6, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 5.” April 13, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 6.” April 20, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 7.” April 27, 2023. Homer News.

Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 9.” May 11, 2023. Homer News.

Heaton, John W. 1915. Ed Krause. “William Dempsey.” Outlaw Tales of Alaska. TwoDot. Guilford, CT.

“Deputy Marshal Evans dies of wounds received at hand of Dempsey – Bandit at large.” September 3, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times.

“Last chapter of Lavor mystery has been told in confession of Wm Dempsey, confessed murderer.” September 6, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times.

“William Dempsey, murderer of Deputy US Marshal Evans is captured this afternoon.” September 4, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times.

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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.

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 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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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.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 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 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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Now Available at 25% off the Cover Price in The Reader’s and Writers Facebook Club Christmas Book Bazaar

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IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF

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If you would 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 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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Merchandise! Visit the Store

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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FTA: Double Murder at a U.S. Coast Guard Base

June 19, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Kodiak Island, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, True Crime, True Crime Podcast, U.S. Coast Guardmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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The double homicide I describe in this episode occurred on a secure Coast Guard base near the town of Kodiak, Alaska, on Kodiak Island, approximately 60 miles from where I live. This murder happened toward the end of the most brutal winter anyone on Kodiak can remember, and when the police did not quickly apprehend the killer, tempers flared, and citizens carried firearms wherever they went. Our mail plane pilot, reporting the news to us on his weekly stop, compared the residents in town to a powder keg ready to blow. When it was all over, many in law enforcement and the judicial system praised the investigation, but at the time, it seemed as if no one was doing anything to look for and apprehend the killer.

Sources:

Associated Press. “Man arrested in 2012 Alaska Coast Guard base deaths.” November 21, 2015. KOMO News.

Grove, Casey. “Wells convicted, again, of Kodiak Coast Guard double murder.” Alaska Public Media.

Joling, Dan. “Car expert testifies in CG trial.” April 10, 2014. Ketchikan Daily News.

Saint Louis, Julie. “Ninth Circuit orders new trial for man accused of Coast Guard killings.” December 9, 2017. Courthouse News.

Silverman, Adam. “FBI: Coast Guard murder suspect resented co-workers.” February 19, 2013. USA Today.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, no. 14-30146. United States of America v. James Michael Wells. January 11, 2018

“Wives of murdered tower techs sue the Coast Guard for wrongful death.” August 16, 2016.

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Join me on June 21st for a Book Blanket Beach Summer Solstice Party!! I will be hosting from 4:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. ADT (8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time). I plan to give away prizes, so don’t miss it!

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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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FTA: The Chulitna Charmer

April 24, 2024EpisodeAlaska True Crime, Chulitna Alaska, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Paul Stavenjord, Robin Barefield, True Crime Podcastmurder-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:

Brennan, Tom, 2003. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 7: “The bank robber next door.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Court of Appeals of Alaska, no. A-7418. Stavenjord v. State. March 28, 2003.

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, Episode 3: “Mountain man.”

Menerey, Amy. “Convicted murderer’s appeal denied.” April 8, 2003. Mat Su Valley Frontiersman.

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FTA: The Tanana Tragedy

February 28, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska True Crime, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, Trooper Murders, True Crime, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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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 1^st, 2014.

Sources

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Kangas found guilty of evidence tampering in Alaska State Trooper deaths.” April 23, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. Arvin Kangas sentenced in case related to Alaska StateTrooper killings.” September 3, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Courtroom tenses as Nathanial Kangas murder trial gets underway.” May 9, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Pilot describes scene in Tanana minutes after troopers killed.” May 10, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Edge, Josh. “Man convicted in Tanana trooper killings sentenced to 203 years in prison.” November 3, 2016. Alaska Public Media.

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FTA: Serial Murderer Gary Zieger

January 31, 2024EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Beth van Zanten, Gary Zieger, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer, Serial Killer Podcast, True Crime, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Gary Zieger, a brutal serial killer, stalked the streets of Anchorage in the early 1970s. We’ll never know how many people Zieger killed, but eventually, the psychopath made a fatal mistake.

Sources

Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 8: “Alaska’s Billy the Kid.” 2005. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Gordon, Mike. “The hired gun.” March 26, 2014. Turnagain Currents.

Hale, Leland. “The lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: The killer is killed.” October 17, 2018. Butcher Baker.

Hale, Leland. “Lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: Whodunnit.” October 18, 2018. Butcher Baker.

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Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge Audiobook Narrated by

Beth Chaplin

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