Deaths

Alaska State Troopers received a report late Thursday night (April 23) from the Kuskokwim Delta community that a three-year-old boy had fallen through ice near a culvert in the village.

Jayme Watson, 27, has been sentenced to serve 1 year and 3 months in jail as part of a 5-year total sentence for an incident in Bethel that resulted in the death of Fritzerald Larson, and left Toby Jackson with permanent injuries.

Last week, a Bethel grand jury indicted Robert Alexia on murder charges in the death of 81-year-old Nick Alexia Sr., who previously served as first tribal chief in the upper Kuskokwim River community.

Jonathan Owens, 42, has been charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 15 shooting death of 54-year-old Tuluksak resident Nelson Hawk at a fish camp near the community.

Darren Hootch, 39, was sentenced for manslaughter and felony burglary after Brian Agwiak was found beaten to death in his home on Jan. 2, 2021. Another man, Rudolf Waska, received a nearly identical sentence in the case.

Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reporter Kyle Hopkins recently wrote about Whitman’s murder and Paul’s release. He said the incident speaks to wider issues within Alaska’s justice system.

Justine Paul was accused of killing his girlfriend, Eunice Whitman. In Alaska’s slow-motion criminal justice system, he was kept behind bars even as the evidence against him fell apart.

In early November, 47-year-old Pius Teeluk was sentenced in Bethel court to 20 years in prison with 6 years suspended after pleading guilty to one count of manslaughter for the death of his girlfriend, Marie Unok.

According to Alaska State Troopers, 16-year-old Kennedy Teganlakla had been attempting to hydroplane the snowmachine over open water – known as skipping – when the accident occurred.

According to the state, John Japhet entered the home of an ex-girlfriend in Bethel and stabbed 32-year-old Paul John in the chest. Court documents say John was sleeping in a bed with the former girlfriend when he was stabbed.