Anchorage more than doubles child homicide total in 2024

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Eight Anchorage children have been victims of homicide this year, more than doubling the number of children who were killed last year, according to Anchorage Police Department data obtained by Alaska’s News Source Investigates.

The data shows they were either killed by a parent or a caregiver, or died in the womb when the mother was murdered. They were shot, their bodies burned, and sometimes there’s little information released about what happened, including the child’s name.

In most cases, their deaths are linked to domestic violence against their mothers or the children themselves.

The numbers show three children were homicide victims last year. In 2022, APD reported four children who were homicide victims.

Asked how often children became linked to domestic violence, APD domestic violence investigator Rebecca Carson responded “a lot.”

“A lot of times. It’s actually really sad,” Carson said.

2024 Anchorage Child Homicide Cases

• Feb 4: Police report a pregnant woman, whose name was not released, was shot and killed on North Park Street in Mountain View.
• June 21: A grand jury indicts Antonius Meyers for two counts of second-degree murder, one count of manslaughter and multiple counts of assault for the death of a child. Meyers is arrested and accused of shaking his baby to death. Reports at the time say Jackson Meyers, born March 6, had brain and chest injuries and that the baby had to be placed in a medically induced coma because of continuous seizures. Jackson was on life support for an unknown amount of time before ultimately dying, according to police reports.
• May 12: Police say 46-year-old Esteban Pope died by suicide after shooting and killing a 32-year-old woman — who was seven months pregnant — and a two-year-old girl. Her name wasn’t released because it’s considered a domestic violence crime. The East Anchorage home where the woman and girl’s bodies were later discovered was set on fire.

Even less information is given about the other four children who died by homicide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, across the country, homicide is the third leading cause of death in children ages 1-4.

In total, APD reports 29 people have been homicide victims in Anchorage this year.

Anchorage’s worst year came in 2017 when 36 people died due to homicide.

Sgt. Todd Kearns is the lead detective for APD’s Crime’s Against Children Unit, which investigates all crimes where children and teenagers are believed to be victims, including physical and sexual abuse.

“These are horrific crimes that are being done to children. Horrific,” Kearns said. “But my part is putting someone in jail for a very long time.”

Some of the nation’s highest child abuse & neglect rates

Alaska consistently struggles with some of the nation’s highest child abuse and neglect rates.

In September alone, state numbers show 2,503 children had been placed in out-of-home care, with 1,726 of them from Alaska Native or American Indian backgrounds — or 69% — who were disproportionately impacted. The story was the same for children removed from their homes; 54 of the 77 children (70%) were Alaska Native or American Indian.

The Alaska Children’s Alliance reports when a mother faces intimate partner violence, 35% of the children report they have also been harmed.

The most recent maltreatment report from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which collects and analyzes numbers submitted by states, ranks Alaska’s maltreatment rate at 18 per 1,000 children, second-highest in the nation behind Maine.

For perspective, an Alaska Maternal Child Death review of 388 deaths of Alaskan children ages 0–17, from 2017-2021, showed 24% were maltreatment-related cases, with 14.3 out of every 1,000 Alaska Native or American-Indian children, had the highest childhood victimization rates.

Repeat Offenders

Police say domestic violence investigations often involve repeat offenders.

“We see a lot of repeat suspects coming through the system,” Carson said. “A lot of unreported abuse.”

Although there are no common factors for violence against children, Kearns says there are patterns.

Those include children reporting more sexual abuse allegations when the school year starts because children feel comfortable telling trusted adults, and when abuse-prevention groups make school presentations, children learn what is happening to them at home is wrong.

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