APD says photos do not prove Alaska Native woman was murdered by Brian Smith

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Nearly five years after Cassandra Boskofsky went missing, Anchorage police say more evidence is needed despite strong belief from the Alaska Native woman’s family and supporters that pictures taken off convicted murderer Brian Smith’s cell phone prove Smith also murdered Boskofsky.

Anchorage Police Detective Capt. Bianca Cross confirmed to Alaska’s News Source Monday that earlier this month, APD Detective Brendan Lee showed Cassandra’s cousin Marcella Boskofsky-Grounds and aunt Terri Boskofsky graphic photos from the cell phone of Smith, who was found guilty of murdering two Alaska Native women, Kathleen Henry, 30, and Veronica Abouchuk, 52, in February.

“I do believe strongly that she is another victim of Brian Steven Smith,” Boskofsky-Grounds said. “He (Detective Lee) asked me if I could look at another photograph that was actually in Brian Steven Smith’s phone … I looked through FaceTime and I could see that through FaceTime that yes, it was Cassandra.

“I just instantly started crying.”

According to an affidavit, Boskofsky-Grounds said the last time she saw her cousin was on Aug. 3, 2019.

Twenty-three days later, she filed a missing persons report.

The family brought their concerns public Friday at a protest. They continue to wonder why it was not until this month when they were first informed about photos found on Smith’s phone — photos that were possibly of Cassandra.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous People advocate Antonia Commack joined the Boskofsky family at the protest.

Commack said as she and former Anchorage police officer Michael Livingston closely followed the Smith case, they noticed court documents in February started to mention a third unidentified woman, and immediately started asking questions.

Eventually, Commack and Livingston say their questions led to police releasing a sketch and three pictures of the woman retrieved from Smith’s phone. They also say they urged police to contact the Boskofsky family so they could also view the photos.

“It’s disheartening that it took five years for them to do that and we identified her within an hour,” Commack said. “The fact that their family had to wait that long to have confirmation that their loved one is dead, is just it’s — I don’t even, I have a hard time finding the words because it makes me so angry.”

However, APD’s Cross said without hard evidence, there is no confirmation.

While the Boskofsky family may strongly feel the photos show Cassandra, Cross said that is not enough proof to determine if Cassandra is dead, which the police captain said is why photos were not immediately shown to the Boskofsky family.

On July 19, calling it a matter of closure, Boskofsky-Grounds said she filed a presumptive death petition in Anchorage Superior Court.

Boskofsky-Grounds said she believes the officially unidentified woman from the photos is her cousin Cassandra.

In her email to Alaska’s News Source on Monday, Cross said nothing can be officially signed off on without forensic evidence.

“We were cognizant we would not be able to confirm the identity regardless of what the family believed, and that idea (of not being in a position to confirm) could be just as detrimental. Other names were suggested by various law enforcement, but again, no certainty,” Cross stated. “We believed it was better for the family to hear what we knew — as opposed to what people believed and put out in the public — without context or more information.”

A $500 reward remains for any information that leads to the discovery of Cassandra. Information can be reported anonymously at alaskathemissing@gmail.com .

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.