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Alaska man involved in violent killing captured on stolen memory card found guilty of first-degree murder
A man who recorded the violent death of an Alaska Native woman on his cellphone was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder on Thursday in her death and that of another Alaska Native woman.
Brian Steven Smith, a 52-year-old from South Africa, showed no reaction in court and stared ahead as the judge read the jury’s verdict. He was arrested after a woman stole his cell phone from his truck and discovered the gruesome footage from 2019. The woman, a sex worker who became a key witness during the trial in Anchorage, then copied the footage to a memory card and ultimately turned it over to police, prosecutors said.
ALASKA AVALANCHE KILLS ONE SKIIER, TWO OTHERS HURT AFTER NEARLY 1,000 FEET FALL
Smith later confessed to killing another Alaska Native woman whose body had been found earlier but had been misidentified.
Smith was found guilty of all 14 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kathleen Henry in 2019 and Veronica Abouchuk, either in 2018 or 2019. If convicted, he would serve a life sentence. Alaska does not have the death penalty.
The violent killing of an Alaska Native woman was caught on camera and key to a murder trial in Anchorage this week. (Fox News)
The three-week trial featured graphic and violent video that was shown only to jurors, but audio played for those in the gallery.
The jury had deliberated for less than two hours.
Read the full article from Here
ByKECI•
Updated: July 2, 2026, 9:58 am EDTPublished: July 2, 2026, 9:18 am EDT3 hours ago
Thunderstorms continue for Northern Rockies, especially southwest Montana, with heavy rain, lightning, and gusty winds. Highs mid-70s today, warming to 80s this weekend. Next week turns warmer and drier with highs reaching upper 80s to low 90s.
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newsletter_1st_lv[‘Sports’] = {‘id’:’sports’, ‘track_name’:’Sports’, ‘title’:’SPORTS NEWS YOUR WAY‘, ‘subtitle’:’Sign up for our free Sports Update newsletter.’};
newsletter_1st_lv[‘Business’] = {‘id’:’business’, ‘track_name’:’Business’, ‘title’:’BUSINESS NEWS YOUR WAY‘, ‘subtitle’:’Sign up for our free Business Update newsletter.’};
newsletter_1st_lv[‘Live Well’] = {‘id’:’livewell’, ‘track_name’:’livewell’, ‘title’:’LIVE WELL NEWSLETTER‘, ‘subtitle’:’Your weekly source for living your healthiest and happiest life.’};
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//newsletter_1st_lv[‘Nevada Preps’] = {‘id’:’nevada_preps’, ‘title’:’HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS YOUR WAY‘, ‘subtitle’:’Stay up to date with our free Nevada Preps newsletter.’};
//newsletter_1st_lv[‘Investigations’] = {‘id’:’rj_investigates’, ‘title’:’INVESTIGATIVE NEWS YOUR WAY‘, ‘subtitle’:’Sign up for our free RJ Investigates newsletter.’};
var cat_has_subcat = [‘News’,’Business’,’Entertainment’,’Sports’, ‘Opinion’];
var newsletter_2nd_lv = [];
newsletter_2nd_lv[‘Politics and Government’] = {‘id’:”,’alert_id’:’political’, ‘track_name’:’Political’, ‘title’:’LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL POLITICS COVERAGE‘, ‘subtitle’:’
//newsletter_2nd_lv[‘Politics and Government’] = {‘id’:’political’, ‘title’:’ELECTION 2020: BE INFORMED’, ‘subtitle’:’
//newsletter_2nd_lv[‘Debra J. Saunders’] = {‘id’:’44’, ‘title’:’YOUR WEEKLY POLITICAL FIX‘, ‘subtitle’:’Sign up for our free DC-LV newsletter with political stories from the swamp to the Strip.’};
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The branding of the WAC, New Mexico State’s longtime home from 2005-23, has officially ceased to exist
What can NMSU athletes do in the Adidas NIL Network?
The Adidas NIL Network will allow New Mexico State athletes to receive NIL money from the three-striped brand. Here’s how it works.
The Western Athletic Conference is officially no more. Well, at least the name isn’t.
The WAC rebranded as the United Athletic Conference on Wednesday, July 1, which was originally the name of a football-only alliance between the WAC and the Atlantic Sun Conference. Membership losses over the 2020s led the WAC to adopt UAC branding and join its three remaining members with the ASUN’s five football-playing members and Little Rock to form an all-sports conference that keeps the WAC’s historical continuity.
The WAC hits home for New Mexico State. The Aggies were members of the conference from 2005-23 and were one of the WAC’s longest-tenured schools.
With the WAC name officially in the ashes of history, here are some of the Aggies’ best moments while in the conference.
Basketball dominance
NM State dominated the WAC with seven regular-season WAC titles, 10 WAC Tournaments and 14 double-digit win seasons in WAC play.
Perhaps NM State’s best season in the WAC was in 2018-19. The Aggies dropped their first conference game, but won the next 15 before going 3-0 in the WAC Tournament, including a blowout 89-57 win over Grand Canyon for a program-record 30th win. NM State went 16-0 in WAC play the next season before it ended thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aggies produced five WAC Players of the Year, including four across 2014-18 in Daniel Mullings, Pascal Siakam, Ian Baker and Jemarrio Jones. Teddy Allen won it in 2022.
Women’s basketball also had a dominant stretch. The Aggies won four out of five WAC regular-season and tournament championships from 2015-19, including three in a row from 2015-17 that all included double-digit victories in the WAC Tournament final. Brooke Salas’ 29 points in the 2019 final secured a 76-73 double-overtime win over UTRGV.
Baseball rallies in 2022
The 2018 baseball team won 40 games and the WAC Tournament, but the 2022 team’s story was a Cinderella run.
The Aggies had the worst record in the WAC Tournament at 20-32. NM State finished sixth in the West Division, but gained entry thanks to second-place California Baptist and fourth-place Dixie State (now Utah Tech) being ineligible due to their Division I transitions.
The Aggies caught fire and went 4-0. NM State defeated Southwest Division winner Sam Houston 3-1, clobbered UTRGV 10-0 in seven innings, took down Sacramento State 7-3 and vanquished fellow No. 4 seed Abilene Christian 7-3 in the championship game.
Winning WAC titles at home
Softball won six regular-season WAC titles and four WAC Tournaments from 2011-21.
Three of those tournament titles came when NM State hosted it in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The Aggies earned three run-rule wins to win in 2015 and faced Seattle three times in 2017. The Aggies fell 6-4 in the second round before bouncing back into the winners bracket to beat the Redhawks 15-14 and 10-0 for another title.
NM State defeated Grand Canyon and UMKC in run-rule fashion in 2018 and faced GCU again in the final. Kelsey Horton’s three RBIs fueled a 9-7 win. She secured back-to-back WAC Player of the Year honors in 2017 and 2018.
A great 2015
The Aggies had one of their best years in 2015. NM State won five regular-season WAC titles and eight WAC tournaments in that calendar year.
Men’s basketball and women’s basketball each won WAC regular-season and tournament titles, and Brianna Freeman was named the WAC Player of the Year in women’s basketball. Volleyball swept the WAC regular-season and tournament titles and never lost a conference game. Gwen Murphy won WAC Player of the Year, and Mike Jordan earned WAC Coach of the Year.
Softball went 47-16 and swept the WAC regular-season and tournament championships in one of the program’s best seasons. Staci Rodriguez won WAC Player of the Year, and the Aggies broke 12 school records on offense.
Men’s and women’s golf both won WAC championships, and men’s tennis swept the WAC regular-season and tournament titles. Women’s tennis also won the WAC Tournament for the program’s first-ever conference title.
Other notable moments
- Soccer won its first WAC Tournament title in 2022 after taking down top-seeded Seattle 1-0 in the final.
- NM State won the 2023 WAC outdoor track and field title. Jhana Downie won conference titles in the 200 and 400 meters, Joseph Rath won WAC Coach of the Year and Terice Steen set a school record in the 400m hurdles (58.36).
- Volleyball won three more WAC regular-season titles in 2016, 2019 and 2021. Megan Hart was named 2019 WAC Player of the Year.
- Women’s golf won seven WAC championships from 2014-22. Pun Chanachai was a standout, winning WAC Player of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2017.
- Swimming and diving stayed in the WAC for two more years after 2023 and were a competitive program, finishing second at the WAC Championships seven times between 2010-25.
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