On October 17, 2019, Anesha “Duffy” Murnane disappeared from Pioneer Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Homer, Alaska in the middle of the day while walking to a medical appointment. The case remained unresolved until a tip led investigators to arrest a man in Ogden, Utah for the rape and murder of Murnane.[1]
Anesha Murnane | |
|---|---|
 Image that was widely distributed during the efforts to find Murnane; she was wearing the same blue jacket on the day she disappeared | |
| Born | August 12, 1981 |
| Disappeared | October 17, 2019 (aged 38) Homer, Alaska, U.S. |
Disappearance
editMurnane resided at a small supportive housing facility in Homer. She left the building on foot at shortly after noon on October 17, 2019, headed for a local clinic, but she never arrived. She was not officially reported missing until the 19th. Search dogs were used to track her movements, they determined she apparently got into a vehicle on Pioneer Avenue. An air search was conducted, and volunteers conducted searches and went door-to-door over the next several months.[1][2]
Investigation
editWhen initial efforts to locate Murnane were not successful, the Homer Police Department hired a special investigator for the sole purpose of continuing to try and determine what happened to her. The FBI also assisted in aspects of the investigation. Several persons of interest were interviewed over the course of the next two years, including the person eventually charged with abducting and murdering Murnane, but there was not sufficient cause to make an arrest.[3][4] Dateline NBC profiled the case as part of their "Missing in America" series in February 2020.[5]
Arrest
edit
In April 2022, a call to a tip line gave numerous details about the crime and identified a Utah man who had formerly lived in Homer as the person who abducted, raped and murdered Murnane.[6] He allegedly knew Murnane due to being employed by a local behavioral health service and having worked at the building where Murnane lived.[7] He was pulled over and arrested on multiple counts in May 2022.[8] Subsequent interviews led to the discovery that the anonymous tip came from the suspect's wife, whom he allegedly told about the murder in 2021.[2] Upon executing search warrants on the suspect, police recovered what appears to be Murnane's Timex watch, found near a missing person flyer.[4]
In September 2022 a grand jury indicted the suspect on multiple felony charges including murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault, carrying a possible sentence of ninety-nine years. The suspect remained in Utah, where he was also facing multiple charges[9] before being extradited to Alaska and incarcerated at the Wildwood Correctional Complex in November 2022.[10] As of June 2024, the suspect had been the subject of twelve pretrial hearings, with no trial date set.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Armstrong, Michael, Police arrest man in murder, kidnapping of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane. Homer News May 9, 2022
- ^ a b Grove, Casey, Former Homer resident kidnapped and murdered woman missing since 2019, police say KTOO/Alaska Public Media, May 10, 2022
- ^ Mason, Mike and Horazdovsky, Kortnie Man charged with Homer woman’s murder worked with vulnerable adults KTUU May. 11, 2022
- ^ a b Klecka, Joey and Rockey, Tim Utah man arrested, charged with murder in case of Homer woman missing since 2019 KTUU, May. 9, 2022
- ^ Cavallier, Andrea, Mother fears for daughter Anesha "Duffy" Murnane missing from Homer, Alaska home since October, Dateline NBC, Feb. 3, 2020
- ^ Shenefelt, Mark, Alaska torture murder suspect arrested, held in Ogden Standard-Examiner, May 12, 2022
- ^ Fulton, Veronica,Arrest made in 2019 disappearance of Anesha "Duffy" Murnane in Homer, Alaska NBC News May 12, 2022
- ^ Verge, Beth, ‘I’ve been holding out hope’: Family, friends of Anesha ‘Duffy’ Murnane react to arrest in 2019 case Alaska's News Source, May. 10, 2022
- ^ McKenny, Hope, Man indicted in murder of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane KBBI, September 22, 2022
- ^ Armstrong, Michael, Man accused in Homer death extradited to Alaska, Peninsula Clarion, November 16, 2022
- ^ Hearing rescheduled for man accused in Homer death Homer News, June 12, 2024