Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier

Who brutally raped and murdered James and Anne Benolken in their Juneau apartment in 1982? Nearly four decades later, many questions remain unanswered.SourcesStarr, Douglas. 12-1-2013. Do police interrogation techniques produce false confessions?Episode 4: The Benolken Murders, the police investigation and Special Agent MaloneLeo Helmar. Murder AlaskaEpisode 2: Introduction to the Benolken Case....

Those who knew Willie Pickton described him as mentally slow and socially awkward. They said he smelled like the pig farm where he lived and wore dirty clothes. Some considered him a friend, but others found him creepy. Only a few suspected what Willie did in his spare time.SourcesButts, Edward. “Robert Pickton Case.” October 8, 2020. The Canadian Encyclopedia.Cameron, Stevie. On the Farm: Robert...

On Valentine’s Day 1983, two new, beautiful sister ships, the Americus and the Altair sank in the Bering Sea in calm water while on their way to the king crab grounds near the Pribilof Islands. Fourteen men lost their lives in the worst disaster in the history of U.S. commercial fishing. A massive investigation ensued to determine what happened to the boats and what could be done to make...

The pain of child abuse follows its victims to adulthood. Many seek therapy, but some internalize the pain and then inflict it upon others, continuing the cycle of abuse. Jason Vukovich chose a different path to exorcise the demons inflicted upon him by his adopted father. Jason consulted the sex offender registry of Alaska and physically assaulted known pedophiles in Anchorage. Jason’s story is...

The endless supply of larger-than-life characters in Alaska makes the state fertile ground for reality television shows and movies based on true stories. If you made a list of the strong, fascinating individuals in the history of this vast state, though, Joe Vogler would rank near the top. Picture a sharply dressed man, wearing a fedora, a bolo tie, and a plaid flannel shirt while he stands in...

Why do we romanticize historical outlaws and con artists? It is difficult to write about Wild West outlaws because the myths surrounding them bear little resemblance to the truth. Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith was one of those characters. Smith often donated money to good causes, but he earned that money by cheating and robbing people. When he relocated his criminal enterprise to Skagway,...

First named in 1972, the Alaska Triangle stretches from Anchorage in southcentral Alaska to Juneau in the southeast panhandle to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) on Alaska’s northern coast. Since 1988, more than 16,000 people have vanished from this area, and every year, approximately four people go missing per every 1000 Alaska residents. This rate is twice the national average.I was surprised when I...

At Raymond (R.D.) Cheely’s sentencing hearing for the random highway murder of Jeffrey Cain, prosecutor Steve Branchflower said that the shooting delivered a stunning message to Anchorage. “No matter who you are or where you live, or what precautions you take to protect yourselves, you cannot escape violence; you can’t hide.” Branchflower added, “Because we can no longer trust Raymond Cheely to...

Sitka, AlaskaWe all know married couples who seem to thrive on discord. These are the people we avoid joining for dinner and the ones in whose presence we squirm as they argue, yell, and threaten. We wonder why they got married, and if they divorce, we’re certain no one else would want either one of them. Still, I’ve met couples who not only manage to survive their contentious relationships but...

On March 22, 1990, the Aleutian Enterprise, a one-hundred-and-forty-three-foot factory trawler, rolled over and sank in the Bering Sea. Nine crew members died, and twenty-two others barely escaped. The incident happened because the owners and managers of Arctic Alaska Seafood put profits above safety and the crew’s lives on their processing ships. Their actions – or inactions – were nothing short...