ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A South African man has been convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two Alaska Native women after recording the violent death of one of the victims on his cellphone.
Following a swift deliberation of less than two hours, the jury unanimously found 52-year-old Brian Steven Smith guilty. Smith showed no reaction in court as the verdict was read, and he will now face a life sentence as Alaska does not have the death penalty.
The chilling footage of the violent death of an Alaska Native woman was discovered after a woman stole Smith’s cellphone from his truck in 2019. The woman, who became a key witness during the trial, copied the footage onto a memory card and ultimately turned it over to police, prosecutors said.
During the trial, the jury heard how Smith later confessed to killing another Alaska Native woman whose body had been misidentified.
The women, Kathleen Henry and Veronica Abouchuk, both from small villages in western Alaska, had experienced homelessness. Henry’s death was recorded at a hotel in Anchorage, where Smith was registered to stay in 2019. The video showed Henry being repeatedly beaten and strangled in a hotel room.
Smith was found guilty of all 14 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Henry and Abouchuk. The graphic videos were shown to the jury during the trial, with audio of Henry gasping for breath before dying being heard in the gallery.
Authorities said Smith drove around with Henry’s body in the back of his pickup for two days before dumping her body on a rural road south of Anchorage. The video never showed the man’s face, but his distinctive accent was heard on the tape as he narrated and urged Henry to die in the chilling footage.
The case also involved a woman who provided the images to police, and who had changed her story over the years about how she came into possession of the SD memory card.
During an eight-hour police interrogation, Smith also confessed to police that he killed Abouchuk after picking her up in Anchorage. He said she refused to shower when he asked and that, in his upset state, he retrieved a pistol from the garage and shot her in the head before dumping her body north of Anchorage.
With the jury’s decision now made, the case serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers faced by vulnerable women, particularly those experiencing homelessness, and highlights the importance of justice for those who have been victimized.