Man found guilty of murder in Alaska Native woman’s killing that was captured on stolen memory card

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man who recorded the violent death of an Alaska Native woman on his cellphone was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in her death and that of another Alaska Native woman. Brian Steven Smith was arrested after a woman stole his cellphone from his truck and discovered the gruesome 2019 footage. The woman is a sex worker who became a key witness during the Anchorage trial. Prosecutors say she copied the footage to a memory card and turned it over to police. Smith later confessed to killing another Alaska Native woman whose body had been misidentified.