“There Is No Hope” Alaska Man Sentenced to 226 Years for Brutal Murders of Indigenous Women

An Alaska man, Brian Steven Smith, has been sentenced to 226 years in prison for the brutal murders of two Indigenous women, Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abouchuk. Smith, 53, was convicted in February of two counts of first-degree murder and an additional dozen charges, including second-degree sexual assault, tampering with evidence, and misconduct involving a corpse, according to the State of Alaska Department of Law.

“There is no hope. There is no restoration,” Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby declared while delivering the sentence. “There is only preventing Mr. Smith from killing again.”

The courtroom was filled with people, including those with red handprints on their faces, symbolizing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Alaska’s News Source reported that the crowd overflowed into the jury seats during the two-hour sentencing on Friday, July 12.

District Attorney Brittany Dunlop, dressed in a red skirt and jacket, described Smith as “pure evil.” She added, “Smith is a person that should never be permitted to walk among us.” The color red and red handprints represent the silent disappearances of Indigenous people. The U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs estimates that non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native females experienced some of the highest rates of homicide in 2020.

Henry’s murder came to light after police received a memory card labeled “Homicide at Midtown Marriott.” Upon questioning, Smith confessed to killing Henry in 2019 and Abouchuk the previous year.

During the trial, jurors viewed graphic videos, including footage of Henry being strangled and killed at a Marriott in Anchorage. Another video showed Smith leaning over an unconscious, naked Abouchuk lying on a red couch. “In my movies, everybody always dies,” Smith says in one of the videos obtained by law enforcement, the Associated Press reported.

The jury found that Smith had subjected Henry to “substantial physical torture,” leading to a mandatory 99-year sentence for her murder. Multiple jurors who convicted Smith attended the sentencing hearing. “We watched and witnessed the most horrible thing we will ever see in our entire life,” recalled juror Matt Duncan. “It was absolutely terrible, and I personally am going to therapy about it right now.”

Henry’s remains were discovered by Alaska Railroad employees in October. Mushroom hunters found Abouchuk’s bullet-ridden skull along Alaska’s Old Glenn Highway, though the rest of her skeleton was never found.

Kristy Grimaldi, Abouchuk’s daughter, was the only family member to speak at the sentencing. “I feel her all around me, watching over me; no one can take that away,” she said. She expressed relief that Smith “will rot in prison,” adding, “I hope he is swarmed with guilt someday knowing he stole so many people’s joy. I will dance the day he dies.”