Alaska
Killer filmed himself torturing 2 Alaska Native women: ‘In my movies, everyone dies’
A man who filmed himself torturing two Alaska Native women and was heard saying that in his movies “everybody always dies,” was sentenced Friday to 226 years in prison.
Brian Steven Smith received 99-year sentences each for the deaths of Kathleen Henry, 30, and Veronica Abouchuk, who was 52 when her family reported her missing in February 2019, seven months after they last saw her.
The remaining 28 years were for other charges, including sexual assault and tampering with evidence. Alaska does not have the death penalty.
Smith, a native of South Africa who became a naturalized US citizen shortly before torturing and killing Henry at an Anchorage hotel in September 2019, showed no emotion during sentencing. He also displayed no emotion when a jury deliberated for less than two hours and found him guilty after a three-week trial in February.
Smith was arrested in 2019 when a sex worker stole his cellphone from his truck and found the gruesome footage of Henry’s torture and murder. The images were eventually copied onto a memory card, and she turned it over to police.
Videos from a memory card were shown to the jury but hidden from the gallery. Smith’s face was never seen in the videos, but his distinctive South African accent — which police eventually recognized from previous encounters — was heard narrating as if there were an audience. On the tape, he repeatedly urged Henry to die as he beat and strangled her.
“In my movies, everybody always dies,” the voice says on one video. “What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know when they are being serial-killed.”
During the trial, the victims were not identified by name, only initials. Saxby said during sentencing that their names would be used in order to restore their personhood.
Smith eventually confessed to killing Henry and Abouchuk, whose body had been found earlier but was misidentified.
“Both were treated about as horribly as a person can be treated,” Alaska Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby said when imposing the sentence.
“It’s the stuff of nightmares,” he added.
Both Alaska Native women were from small villages in western Alaska and experienced homelessness when living in Anchorage.
Authorities identified Henry as the victim whose death was recorded at TownePlace Suites by Marriott in midtown Anchorage.
Smith, who worked at the hotel, was registered to stay there from September 2-4, 2019.
The first images from the card showed Henry’s body and were time-stamped about 1am on September 4, police said.
The last image, dated early September 6, showed Henry’s body in the back of black pickup. Charging documents said location data showed Smith’s phone in the same rural area south of Anchorage where Henry’s body was found a few weeks later.
During the eight-hour videotaped police interrogation, Smith confessed to killing Abouchuk after picking her up in Anchorage when his wife was out of town. He took her to his home, and she refused when he asked her to shower because of an odor.
Smith said he became upset, retrieved a pistol from the garage and shot her in the head, dumping her body north of Anchorage.
He told police the location, where authorities later found a skull with a bullet wound in it.
Abouchuk’s daughter, Kristy Grimaldi, gave the only victim impact statement during the sentencing, according to the Anchorage Daily News, saying Smith would “rot in prison.”
The Alaska Republican Party said on Sunday that it will be asking the Division of Elections for a recount of the votes on Ballot Measure 2, which gave Alaskans the option of repealing ranked-choice voting.
Although dark money from Outside Alaska overwhelmed proponents of the repeal, it ended up failing to be repealed by just 664 votes, a tiny margin.
Of the 340,110 votes cast on the measure, the margin of “No” votes to “Yes” votes was 160,619 to 159,955, or 50.1% to 49.9%. The state must cover the costs of a recount when the margin is this close.
“We will submit this request, along with the names of the requisite Alaskan voters required to initiate this process, once the election is certified, which is scheduled for November 30, 2024,” said the statement issued by the Alaska Republican Party.
The party has hired the Dhillon Law Group, led by Harmeet K. Dhillon, to be on the ground during the recount and review, along with Alaska-based party counsel and observers.
“Ms. Dhillon and her firm are a nationally recognized, seasoned election integrity legal team, and bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this recount process. Ms. Dhillon is an expert in election law. She and her colleagues Michael Columbo and Mark Meuser were recently on the legal teams in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and other crucial locations nationally to ensure a fair, transparent, and thorough process,” said Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield. “Our Party Counsel, Ms. Stacey Stone and her team, are experienced Alaskan election law practitioners, and in September 2024, they successfully intervened on the Alaska Republican Party’s behalf in the case of Alaska Democratic Party v. State of Alaska Division of Elections, ultimately prevailing in the Alaska Supreme Court.”
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Norma Aldefer didn’t expect to turn 100. Now, one day after her 101st birthday, she’s even more surprised.
Inside her pristine apartment, Aldefer’s table is full of cards wishing her a happy birthday. She points out a favorite, which reads “You’re how old?”
Celebratory messages from loved ones, along with congratulations from state officials Senator Lisa Murkowski and Governor Mike Dunleavy. Aldefer said last year’s centennial birthday even brought in regards from President Joe Biden.
Aldefer moved to Alaska to marry her husband, who was originally from her hometown. The photograph she has at her side is of her as a younger woman posing with her mother in 1948.
“We took pictures of ourselves and and I’m all dressed up in high heels and a hat and a purse. And my little bag that I was carrying.” Aldefer said she was scared leaving the small farm she grew up on, but by working as a telephone operator for Southwestern Bell, she expanded her horizons.
Multiple times Aldefer stated she’s remained curious all her years. She said it’s the reason she’s been able to maintain herself rather than losing her faculties, and believes it’s the way to feel fulfilled.
“Sometimes people get into things they don’t enjoy, but they think, ‘Oh, I have to make a living.’ Don’t do that. If you’re not comfortable, go do something else,” Aldefer said.
“May not make a good living for a while, but you might enjoy life.”
Aldefer says she still enjoys life, and continues to enjoy a nightly martini alongside cheese and crackers before she begins to cook dinner.
Over the course of the interview, she marveled at her gratitude for her world – calling herself blessed.
“I know I’m not going to be here much probably much longer, but I’ve had such a good life, you know. I’m not afraid of it.”
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A moderate earthquake occurred in south-central Alaska Sunday afternoon, striking at 2:42 p.m.
Its epicenter was located about 24 miles due east of Anchorage with a depth of 18 miles.
No damage or injuries were reported.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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