In this Spotlight minisode, we discuss the case of a South African expat in Alaska who, in 2019, was arrested for the murder of two women. Is this the grand sum of Brian Smith’s crimes or should we be considering him a serial murderer.
Brian Steven Smith, who grew up in Queenstown, Eastern Cape faced 14 charges including murder in the first degree and second degree, sexual assault, tampering with physical evidence and “misconduct involving a corpse”.
The suspect was accused of killing Kathleen Jo Henry, 30. On 2 October 2019, her body was found near the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. He was also accused of a second killing. On 2 October 2019, Veronica Abouchuk’s body was found in a secluded area just south of the city. The last time her family saw her was on July 2018. According to a bail memorandum filed by prosecutors on Thursday, 17 October 2019, Smith confessed to the police about both murders.
The case made international headlines in September after a passer-by found an SD card on an Anchorage street labelled “Homicide at Midtown Marriott”. The card, which was handed to police, contained graphic pictures and videos of a woman being brutally raped, beaten and murdered. The 39 images and 12 videos on the card were dated between September 3 and 5.
A detective reviewing the images recalled an earlier investigation of a man with the same unusual accent.
He made the link to Smith, whose accent stood out because there are so few South Africans living in Anchorage.
SHOWNOTES:
Host: Nicole Engelbrecht
Producer: Nicole Engelbrecht
Music: Snippet from Prime Circle’s Evidence
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