– Long-tailed: memory card arrest
– Long-tailed: murder trial Brian Smith.

Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Alaska Native Women’s Brutal Murders Trial Set to Begin

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The trial of a man accused of brutally murdering two Alaska Native women and capturing their deaths on video is scheduled to commence next week. Brian Smith, the defendant, appeared in court on Wednesday, where his defense attorneys scrutinized his previous statements to the police in an attempt to have certain parts of them declared inadmissible.

During the proceedings, the defense also raised concerns about potential privacy breaches, suggesting that the Department of Corrections might have been eavesdropping on Smith’s conversations with his attorney and wife, as well as reading their letters.

Smith, who listened to the proceedings via phone, faced further questioning regarding the phrases used by the police during his interrogation, particularly the accusation that he allegedly stated, “sadly everyone dies in my movies.”

The homicides gained national attention after a good Samaritan discovered a memory card labeled “Homicide at midtown Marriott” near an Anchorage Carrs store. The card contained images and 12 videos documenting a horrifying scene at a local hotel, according to charging documents.

The disturbing footage showed a naked woman being beaten and strangled in a hotel room, with the man later identified as Smith yelling at her to die and laughing. Smith, originally from South Africa, later became a naturalized United States citizen.

Smith stands accused of the murders of Kathleen Jo Henry, 30, and Veronica Abouchuk, 53, both of whom experienced homelessness. Henry was strangled and killed in a hotel room during the first week of September 2019. Following his arrest for Henry’s murder, Smith allegedly confessed to shooting Abouchuk sometime between 2017 and 2018. Abouchuk’s remains, including a skull with a gunshot wound, were discovered along the Old Glenn Highway.

The charges against Smith include murder one and two, sexual assault, and tampering with physical evidence. Additionally, a grand jury determined that Henry’s killing involved torture.

The case has shed light on a previous unsolved homicide within the Anchorage Police Department. Years before Abouchuk’s disappearance, her sister Martha Toms was severely beaten in 2005 and later found underneath a picnic table in an Anchorage park. Toms succumbed to her injuries the following day.

Smith’s video recordings, some of which were posted online, reveal his disturbing activities. In one video, Smith can be seen flying a drone in his neighborhood, while another shows him focusing on a black truck parked in his garage, which he refers to as a “chick magnet.” The truck bears a strong resemblance to the one described by the police in relation to Henry’s killing.

Additional videos depict Smith and his wife Stephanie Bissland engaging in seemingly normal activities, such as swimming in the ocean and sharing moments of affection.

Bissland, who was reached at her home, expressed doubt in Smith’s guilt, stating, “I don’t think he did it.” However, she declined to answer further questions.

Throughout the proceedings, Smith has maintained his innocence, entering not guilty pleas in 2019. He was arrested at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on October 8, 2019.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Kevin Saxby informed the involved attorneys that 50 potential jurors would report to court on Monday, with an additional 39 available on Tuesday. Each attorney will have two hours to question the prospective jurors.

Prosecutor Brittany Dunlop revealed that most of the prospective jurors are unaware of the case based on the questionnaires they submitted. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

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1. “Memory card arrest and murder trial of Brian Smith”
2. “Arrest and murder trial initiated by a memory card”.