Prosecutor: Man accused of killing 2 Alaska Native women recorded images of both victims

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man accused of murdering two Alaska Native women recorded images of both of his victims, and the break in the case came when a third woman stole the man’s phone and provided police with photos and videos of one of the killings. That’s what prosecutor Brittany Dunlop told an Anchorage jury Tuesday during opening statements in the double-murder trial of Brian Steven Smith. His attorney, Timothy Ayer, questioned how the recordings came to the attention of investigators — and whether they depict what prosecutors say they do. Ayer suggested police had tried to “reverse engineer a crime based on what they think they saw on the video.”