Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Man Sentenced to 226 Years for Killing 2 Alaska Native Women, Filming Torture of One
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 weeks ago on
July 12, 2024

Brian Steven Smith watches proceedings during the opening day of his double murder trial, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. On Friday, July 12, 2024, Smith, who killed two Alaska Native women and was heard while videotaping the 2019 torture death of one say that in his movies “everybody always dies,” was sentenced to 226 years in prison. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A man who killed two Alaska Native women and was heard while videotaping the torture death of one say that in his movies “everybody always dies” was sentenced Friday to 226 years in prison.

Smith Kills Two

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.

“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,” Saxby said.

The remaining 28 years were for other charges, like sexual assault and tampering with evidence. Alaska does not have the death penalty.

Smith, a native of South Africa who became a naturalized U.S. citizen shortly before torturing and killing Henry at an Anchorage hotel in September 2019, showed no emotion during sentencing.

Jury Deliberates for Less Than Two Hours

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.

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 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.

Smith eventually confessed to killing Henry and Abouchuk, whose body had been found earlier but was misidentified.

Both Alaska Native Women Experience Homelessness

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 Sept. 2-4, 2019. The first images from the card showed Henry’s body and were time-stamped about 1 a.m. Sept. 4, police said.

The last image, dated early Sept. 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.

Videos from the memory card were shown during the trial 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 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.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Harris Selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate

DON'T MISS

A Rocket Attack at an Iraqi Military Base Injures US Personnel, Officials Tell AP

DON'T MISS

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Lobbies for Ukrainian Interests

DON'T MISS

Harris Gains Big Ground on Trump, Leads Him in Some Polls

DON'T MISS

Armand Duplantis Breaks World Pole Vault Record at Olympics

DON'T MISS

Police Release Images of Suspects and Car in Killing of Actor Johnny Wactor in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Oakland A’s to Sell Stake in Coliseum to Local Black Development Group

DON'T MISS

IOC Rejects IBA’s Gender Tests, Allows Disputed Female Boxers to Continue

DON'T MISS

How Is the US Doing in the Latest Olympic Medals Standings?

DON'T MISS

Actor Akili McDowell Charged With Murder in Houston Shooting

UP NEXT

A Rocket Attack at an Iraqi Military Base Injures US Personnel, Officials Tell AP

UP NEXT

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Lobbies for Ukrainian Interests

UP NEXT

Harris Gains Big Ground on Trump, Leads Him in Some Polls

UP NEXT

Armand Duplantis Breaks World Pole Vault Record at Olympics

UP NEXT

Police Release Images of Suspects and Car in Killing of Actor Johnny Wactor in Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Oakland A’s to Sell Stake in Coliseum to Local Black Development Group

UP NEXT

IOC Rejects IBA’s Gender Tests, Allows Disputed Female Boxers to Continue

UP NEXT

How Is the US Doing in the Latest Olympic Medals Standings?

UP NEXT

Actor Akili McDowell Charged With Murder in Houston Shooting

UP NEXT

Ex-Trump Attorney Jenna Ellis to Cooperate in Arizona Fake Electors Case, Charges to Be Dropped

Harris Gains Big Ground on Trump, Leads Him in Some Polls

16 hours ago

Armand Duplantis Breaks World Pole Vault Record at Olympics

16 hours ago

Police Release Images of Suspects and Car in Killing of Actor Johnny Wactor in Los Angeles

16 hours ago

Oakland A’s to Sell Stake in Coliseum to Local Black Development Group

16 hours ago

IOC Rejects IBA’s Gender Tests, Allows Disputed Female Boxers to Continue

16 hours ago

How Is the US Doing in the Latest Olympic Medals Standings?

17 hours ago

Actor Akili McDowell Charged With Murder in Houston Shooting

17 hours ago

Ex-Trump Attorney Jenna Ellis to Cooperate in Arizona Fake Electors Case, Charges to Be Dropped

17 hours ago

Drake Bell Rocks Strummer’s in Fresno With Music New and Old

18 hours ago

What Should Parents Do if Their Child Gets COVID After School Starts?

18 hours ago

Harris Selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday, according to three people famili...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Harris Selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate

15 hours ago

A Rocket Attack at an Iraqi Military Base Injures US Personnel, Officials Tell AP

16 hours ago

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Lobbies for Ukrainian Interests

16 hours ago

Harris Gains Big Ground on Trump, Leads Him in Some Polls

16 hours ago

Armand Duplantis Breaks World Pole Vault Record at Olympics

16 hours ago

Police Release Images of Suspects and Car in Killing of Actor Johnny Wactor in Los Angeles

16 hours ago

Oakland A’s to Sell Stake in Coliseum to Local Black Development Group

16 hours ago

IOC Rejects IBA’s Gender Tests, Allows Disputed Female Boxers to Continue

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend