Latest / Shades of Murder / 73: Death at the Mayor's House - Jennifer Kirk and Susanna "Sue Sue" Norton, AK

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73: Death at the Mayor's House - Jennifer Kirk and Susanna "Sue Sue" Norton, AK · Shades of Murder

0:02
In early March of 2020, in Katsubu, Alaska, when officers
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arrive at the former mayor's house, they discover a body
0:12
whose head was covered with a jacket.
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The woman had been severely beaten and showed signs of
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strangulation. Her death would reveal a pattern
0:23
of generational violence, expose individuals who abused their
0:28
authority and power, and bring to light a system that failed
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her and another young mother two years earlier on the same
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property. Who were these victims and who
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were the monsters that brutally entered their lives?
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Hello and welcome to shades of murder.
1:23
I am your host Alita Caldwell in this podcast, I discuss cases of
1:28
murder from around the world and throughout history, attempting
1:34
to unravel the layers of darkness that help make humans
1:38
and to monsters. Please be forewarned that each
1:42
episode contains specific and at times very graphic and
1:48
disturbing details of the case. This show is not intended for
1:53
all audiences and listener discretion is strongly advised.
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Kotzebue, also called the Gateway to the Arctic, is a
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major supply and transportation hub in the Northwest Arctic
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Bureau in Alaska. Lying 26 miles above the Arctic
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Circle in the Chukchi Seas, it is situated closer to Russia
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than it is to Anchorage. Once known as the polar bear
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capital of the world and the unfortunate site of trophy
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hunting, in the 1970s, it was discovered that it held the
2:30
second largest amount of the mineral zinc in the world.
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It is home to approximately 3300 residents, of which 80% are a
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new PIAT, which is a specific group of Alaska Natives.
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Indigenous culture, arts and community are the heart and
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center of the city of Katsabu. It is in this small, very remote
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seaport town where this story takes place.
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It is the story of two young inopiac women, young mothers
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whose lives were stolen by more than just the monsters who
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killed them. They were destroyed by a cycle
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of violence, the tainted generations of a family, and by
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a system that continues to fail them and their families today.
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These women's stories are just a small fraction of the countless
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cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
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They are but two faces of this ongoing crisis of gender and
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race based violence. This is the story of Jennifer
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Kirk and Susanna Susu Norton of Katsubu, Alaska.
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Around 6:00 PM on May 23rd, 2018, the police received a call
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from a neighbor reporting an unknown disturbance next door.
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The home was located on the property owned by the Northwest
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Arctic Borough Mayor Clement Richard Senior.
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When the officers entered the residence, they discovered a man
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in a bedroom lying over a woman who appeared to have been shot.
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The man was crying and didn't want to leave her side.
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The victim was identified as 25 year old Jennifer Kirk.
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The next day after her body was found, her case was closed as a
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suicide. Since her case had been closed
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as a suicide, this created an additional barrier for reporters
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to access the police records, which isn't an easy task even
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under the most normal of circumstances.
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The Anchorage Daily News and Pro Publica reporter Kyle Hopkins
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appealed to the police that since her death wasn't an open
4:59
investigation, they should have access to the death
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investigation records. The investigative reports were
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heavily redacted. This means that the reports were
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altered and modified to exclude the names of the individuals
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they were interviewing and other specific information.
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Based on the information that is included, it is logical to
5:24
believe the police were talking to specific individuals, in
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particular Jennifer Kirk's boyfriend Anthony Richards and
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his parents, the mayor Clement Richard Senior, and his wife
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Annette Richards. According to the official death
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investigation reports, which are accessible to read online thanks
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to the diligence and integrity of reporter Kyle Hopkins, the
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following sequence of events occurred on May 23rd, 2018 and
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the days after Jennifer Kirk was found deceased.
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As previously mentioned, a concerned neighbor had called
6:02
the Cotts View police station about their next door neighbor,
6:05
who had run over to their home in a panic and asked them to
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call 911. At the time of the event, the
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neighbor wasn't aware of what had happened, so they simply
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told the police that there was an unknown disturbance.
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The mayor, Clement Richards Senior, had two different homes
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located on a plot of land. The houses were located within
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440 feet of the Police Department lobby and even closer
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to City Hall. There were a dozen surveillance
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cameras or more that circled the government buildings and a few
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were within view of the mayor's house.
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The police arrived at six O 1:00 PM.
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When they entered the residence, they saw two juveniles waiting
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in the living room. They told the officers that
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their dad was the one who needed them and that they were in the
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bedroom. The officers could hear someone
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crying, and they followed the sounds to a room in the
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northeast corner of the house. They immediately noticed there
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was blood at the entry and a man was lying over the top of a
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young woman holding her. Officers escorted him from the
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room. He was hysterical, sobbing and
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wouldn't speak to the officers. The man's hands, arms, shirt and
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pants were covered in blood. He was soon removed from the
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scene and placed in a patrol car.
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The woman was found in a semi fetal position on her right
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side, lying at the foot of the bed.
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Her left arm was positioned at an almost 90° angle and she was
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bleeding profusely from her head.
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A rifle lay by her feet, partially covering her left
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foot, with a muzzle pointed near her buttocks.
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A bullet hole entrance wound was visible beneath her chin.
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Officers observed and recorded several areas of blood spatter
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inside the room, including on the dresser, the mattresses, the
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blankets, and on several plastic totes.
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The woman was officially pronounced dead at six O 8:00 PM
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Investigator Mallette and Officer Mike Cox processed the
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crime scene while the victim's body was transported to the
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medical Examiner's office in Anchorage.
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According to their reports, Investigator Mallette
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interviewed the man at the crime scene identified as Anthony
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Richards, the mayor's youngest son.
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Anthony and the deceased, Jennifer Kirk had been in an on
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again off again relationship since 2011.
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They were currently living together and had two children.
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He informed the officer that he was watching television with his
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kids when he heard a loud pop that he initially believed to be
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a firecracker. Anthony then went to check on
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Jennifer in the bedroom, where he found her lying on the bed
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with the rifle. He said he couldn't find his
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phone at the time, so he rushed over to a neighbor's house and
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asked them to call 911. He told the police that Jennifer
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was still breathing when he left her to get help.
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But then suddenly Anthony Richards stopped talking to the
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investigator and he told him he was unable to continue at the
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moment, but he would speak with him later.
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He didn't protest to handing over his bloody clothing to the
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police. In what is believed to be a
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police interview with the mayor's wife, Annette Richards,
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her son Anthony had been staying at their home with Jennifer Kirk
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and their two kids. According to Missus Richards,
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Jennifer Kirk struggled with addiction and sometimes when she
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became intoxicated, she accused her son Anthony of harming her,
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but that it wasn't so easy to believe her.
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When the officer inquired about whether Anthony had abused
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Jennifer on the day she died, she stated that the last
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incident of domestic violence between them had been the
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previous October. Annette Richards claimed that
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she last saw Jennifer two days before her death on May 21st and
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that she had no bruises visible on her.
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Missus Richards had last spoken to her on the day she died.
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According to her, Jennifer had asked her to have some diapers
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brought over to the house and she sounded as if she had been
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drinking. This was around 2:30 PM.
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Jennifer called her again an hour later asking for the
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diapers. It is believed that the mayor,
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Clement Richards Senior, brought them to the house around 4:00
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PM. He later told his wife that
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Jennifer, along with one of their relatives and a friend,
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had been drinking. According to Missus Richards,
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Jennifer had been in a relationship with another man
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while living in Buckland, which was about 90 miles South.
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She and Anthony had recently gotten back together, and both
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she and her son seemed happy. Her son even told her they were
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planning on getting married soon.
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She told officers that she wasn't aware of Jennifer having
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any suicidal ideation, but that when she drank heavily, she
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easily spun out of control. Missus Richards described her as
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being overly emotional when intoxicated and that when she
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was, she frequently made accusations of abuse against her
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son based on her description of her son Anthony.
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He was very easy going, especially when he was drinking,
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but once he became involved with Jennifer, things began to
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change. Missus Richards informed the
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police that less than two weeks before Jennifer's death, on May
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16th to be exact, Jennifer told her that she had been jumped.
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Over the weekend, Missus Richards showed the officers
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text between the two of them, including photos of her black
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eye. The other interview in the
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police reports or investigative death records appears to be with
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the mayor, Clement Richard Senior.
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He told the police that his son had shared with him how over the
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weekend before her death they had been arguing and Jennifer
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spoke about killing herself. The day before she died, they
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had all gone to camp and had grabbed a 22 caliber rifle in
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addition to their other guns and went duck hunting for the day.
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He claimed that he didn't see Jennifer handling any of the
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guns, but he assumed she was familiar with how to use one
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since she was from a native village.
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In a second interview with the victim's boyfriend, Anthony
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Richards, he explained to the investigator that Jennifer Kirk
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had lived in Buckland for a while.
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They were on again and off again, but when he and Jennifer
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decided they wanted to work harder on their relationship and
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make it work, she told him she didn't feel wanted anywhere but
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that she wanted to live in Kotzebue with him and the kids.
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Jennifer lived at what I presume was one of her relative or
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friend's house for a while, but she felt she had overstayed her
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welcome so she left to go stay with him at his parents house.
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But according to Anthony, they didn't want her staying there
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either. The weekend before her death,
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Jennifer Kirk had gone out with a friend.
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When she returned on Sunday, she was dressed in different
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clothes. Her hair was muddy and she said
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that someone had jumped her near a tuku.
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Anthony told officers that Jennifer had multiple scratches
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on her ankles and on her nose. She also had a bruise on her
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right eye. According to Anthony, Jennifer
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didn't want to go fishing when she returned because she was
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afraid she might cross paths with her assailant, although she
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also claimed she didn't know who the person was who had jumped
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her. Regarding questions of her
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mental health, Anthony told officers that Jennifer had tried
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to kill herself when she lived in Point Hope from November to
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January of that same year. She had first attempted to shoot
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herself with her brother's rifle and then later on by using his
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shotgun somewhat had stopped her before she could take her own
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life, and it left a shotgun hole in the wall.
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He admitted to officers that they had been arguing on the day
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of her death over her not wanting to turn herself into the
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police. Apparently, Jennifer Kirk had a
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DUI in which 27 of the 30 days had been suspended, which meant
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that she still needed to serve three days in jail.
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According to Anthony, he had encouraged her to turn herself
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in now and just stop putting it off, but allegedly this only
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increased her feelings of not being wanted by him.
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Jennifer began to cry and he told her to go lie down in the
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bedroom so as not to upset the kids.
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He explained how Jennifer was really good at hiding and
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bottling up her emotions, but then all of a sudden they would
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explode. Anthony told the officers that
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while Jennifer was in the bedroom for about an hour, he
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just hung out with her kids watching cartoons on the couch.
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After he heard the sound of what turned out to be a rifle, he
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rushed into the bedroom to check on her and that's when he found
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her bloodied body on the bed with the rifle.
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He was in a panic, in shock, and he couldn't find his phone, so
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he ran over to the neighbour's house to have them call 911.
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Anthony Richards first alleged that the rifle had been near the
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top of her head, but then he told the investigator that it
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was lying on her side, so he moved it away from her.
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Anthony said that he didn't observe any marks around her
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neck, nor had he seen any from the weekend she had been
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attacked. When the investigator asked him
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about physically assaulting her on the day she died, he
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initially said that he hadn't hit her or done any harm to her
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since the incident last October. Then his story changed.
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He broke down and confessed to the police that things had gone
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physical between them that day after one of his relatives and a
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friend had left their house after they had drunk a lot of
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vodka. That is when he and Jennifer
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began arguing about turning herself into the police station
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for the DUI. Jennifer wanted to wait until
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that Friday to turn herself in, but he just told her she should
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stop procrastinating and stop putting it off.
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This in turn made her feel rejected by him and she said she
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was leaving to stay with her friend Nancy until Friday.
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When she attempted to call her friend Nancy, he held her back.
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Jennifer got angry and began slapping him, heading him across
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the sides of his head and ears, so he grabbed her by the neck to
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hold her away from him. She slapped him harder and he
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pushed her away using one hand. Jennifer began to come at him
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again and he held her away from him, holding her neck again.
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This time when he shoved her away, she stumbled to the floor,
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but she got up quickly again and continued to strike him.
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Anthony Richards told the investigator that he didn't know
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how much pressure or force he had used when he was holding her
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neck. After the second time he pushed
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her, she fell hard to the ground, but he couldn't recall
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whether she got up off the floor right away or if she had hit her
17:49
head and lay there unconscious for a while.
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Not long after this incident, he told her to go to the bedroom.
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Allegedly, the physical altercation between them
17:59
occurred in the kitchen. He swore that he didn't think he
18:02
had caused her any injuries during the fight.
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He had just wanted to block out the horror of that day, which is
18:10
why he hadn't admitted to the police about their fighting and
18:14
assaulting her on the day she died.
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Anthony Richards swore to the investigator that he did 'cause
18:22
the petechia hemorrhaging and bruising around her neck, but
18:26
that he hadn't shot her. He had handled the gun in the
18:28
past, but they wouldn't find his fingerprints on the trigger.
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Anthony Richards also offered to provide the police with his DNA
18:36
and to assist in their investigation.
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On June 18th, investigators spoke with the person who knew
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about the alleged assault that had been made on Jennifer the
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weekend before her death. This friend told the officer
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that an individual, believed to be another young woman, was
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pissed off with Jennifer for messaging some guy, possibly her
18:59
boyfriend. According to this witness, she
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was with Jennifer when this other girl, allegedly a minor,
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went psycho on her, ran after her, and jumped her.
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However, based on her friend's interview, she also told
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investigators that Jennifer had already been beaten up pretty
19:18
badly before the girl assaulted her, including a black eye and
19:24
an injury to her forehead. She also told the officers that
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Jennifer had new injuries after this assault.
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This friend had seen Jennifer on the day she was found deceased.
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She had come over to her house with a friend or a relative
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because her boyfriend, Anthony Richards had been freaking out
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on her because she had hidden his vodka bottle from him.
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This friend said that Jennifer appeared to be upset, but she
19:52
wasn't obviously intoxicated. She also mentioned how she had
19:57
never known her friend Jennifer to speak about suicide, nor did
20:01
she have any knowledge that she had attempted to kill herself in
20:05
the past. According to former Kotzebue
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Police Chief Ed Ward, who wasn't working for the Police
20:12
Department at the time of these incidents, after reviewing the
20:16
police records, all 10 of the red flags that are used in the
20:21
Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, which
20:26
helps officers identify domestic violence killings, applied to
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the case of Jennifer Kirk. The 10 red flags include the
20:35
victim dying prematurely. The scene appears to be an
20:39
accident or suicide. One partner had tried to end the
20:42
relationship before the incident occurred.
20:46
There was a prior history of domestic violence, whether it
20:50
was with her current or former partner.
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The violence included strangulation and or
20:55
suffocation. The victim is found dead in the
20:59
home. The victim's body was found by
21:02
their current or former intimate partner.
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The intimate partner is the last person to have seen the victim
21:09
alive. The partner had control of, and
21:13
thus access to the crime scene. The body was moved at the crime
21:18
scene and or there was evidence of it being altered in some
21:22
capacity. The practicality of Jennifer
21:25
Kirk being able to shoot herself with a long rifle has been a
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lingering question for her family.
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It was noted in the investigative report by
21:35
Investigator Mallette how the length of the rifle from the tip
21:39
of the barrel to the tip of the trigger was 27 1/8 inches long.
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Jennifer Kirk's arm length was 26 and three eighteenths inches
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long, leading some to wonder at only 5 foot 5 inches tall, was
21:54
she capable of shooting herself with a long rifle?
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Robert Sham, a retired firearm expert for the state crime lab,
22:03
stated in an interview later on that although these kinds of
22:08
measurements can be useful in determining whether a death is a
22:12
suicide, it's not enough and Jennifer Kirk's case to declare
22:17
her death as one. If the police had thoroughly
22:20
investigated, they would have conducted a test to determine
22:24
the probability that someone of the same build in size as
22:29
Jennifer, while using the same kind and length of a rifle,
22:33
could in fact lean over and place their thumb in position to
22:38
pull the trigger. Jennifer Kirk's father, Timothy
22:41
Gavin, doesn't believe his daughter took her own life.
22:44
According to him, there had never been any signs of Jennifer
22:48
wanting to harm herself. She had never spoken about or
22:51
attempted to commit suicide. Her mother, Doris Stalker, spoke
22:55
to Jennifer only a few hours before the shooting occurred and
23:00
nothing seemed to be off with her.
23:01
They had even made plans to send each other some local native
23:06
foods from their respective towns.
23:09
Yet for some reason, the police never interviewed her parent.
23:13
It was just one more indication that law enforcement was in a
23:18
rush to declare her cause of death as a suicide and close the
23:23
case. Her suspicious death never even
23:27
made it in the news. The Alaska Department of Law,
23:31
which overseas state prosecutors never answered questions as to
23:36
why no charges were ever filed in her case.
23:40
Not for the brutal violence she endured before her death.
23:45
For her murder. The death investigation records
23:49
proved that on May 24th, 2018, one day after her body was
23:56
discovered, the police declared her official cause of death as a
24:01
suicide. The Cots Abuse Police Department
24:04
closed the case before receiving the final results of her
24:09
autopsy. The medical examiner contacted
24:13
Investigator Mallette on May 25th with his findings.
24:18
There were signs of strangulation on the corpse with
24:22
clear marks on her neck. I don't understand how it can be
24:27
legal to close a case before the medical examiner has finished
24:33
evaluating a body and declare an official cause of death.
24:37
When the police received this additional information regarding
24:41
Jennifer Kirk's injuries, they informed the medical examiner
24:46
that they had already closed the case.
24:48
It was documented in the death records that the medical
24:52
examiner had later contacted the investigator to state that he
24:57
was fine with declaring her death as a suicide.
25:02
A little under two years later, the police would return to the
25:08
same mayor's property. Inside an adjacent house lay the
25:13
body of a young woman. She had been severely beaten and
25:18
strangled. The victim was identified as 30
25:22
year old Susanna Susu Norton. This time the police officers
25:29
didn't close the case. I mean cover up the case in
25:33
record time. Instead they followed protocol
25:38
and waited for the official autopsy.
25:41
The days leading up to this woman's death are convoluted
25:45
because there is conflicting information regarding the
25:48
timeline and a 2020 e-mail sent to news outlets.
25:54
The Kotzebue police estimated that Susanna Susu Norton had
25:58
died on either March 5th or 6th. However, according to her sister
26:04
Vera Norton, Susanna was helping her family prepare a Caribou on
26:09
either the 7th or 8th of March. But according to police records,
26:15
they were called to the now former mayor's house on March
26:19
9th. There they found the body of a
26:21
woman with her head covered by a jacket.
26:25
Her body had been severely beaten and there were signs of
26:29
strangulation. The medical examiner's report
26:33
found multiple blunt force injuries to the neck, head and
26:38
extremities. The young woman had been badly
26:42
beaten but she had died from strangulation.
26:47
Her injuries were so severe they couldn't be dismissed or covered
26:53
up. There was no way to conceal it
26:57
as a suicide or accident when it was obviously murder.
27:03
Susanna Susu Norton's death would be officially declared A
27:08
homicide. The Alaska State Troopers soon
27:12
took over the criminal investigation from the local
27:16
police. They stated to the press that
27:19
they plan to travel up to Kotzebue over the summer to look
27:23
into her murder. However, this never happened.
27:27
A spokesperson for the department in late October of
27:30
2020 said that even though the troopers hadn't made it there
27:35
yet, they still intended to. Before the end of the year.
27:39
The case was transferred to be handled by the Missing and
27:42
Murdered Indigenous Persons Unit.
27:45
In 2021, the former mayor Clement Richards senior was
27:50
visited by reporter Kyle Hopkins, but he refused to
27:54
comment. Clement junior, when approached,
27:58
stated that he was in Anchorage with his father at the time of
28:01
Susannah Norton's death and that he didn't know anything about
28:04
it. He even went so far as to
28:07
suggest that maybe she killed herself, telling the reporter
28:12
how it was common here in Alaska.
28:14
It was learned through Kyle Hopkins investigation that just
28:18
like Jennifer Kirk, Susannah Norton had also suffered
28:23
prolonged extreme abuse and violence at the hands of one of
28:28
the Richard sons. On November 17th, 2018, the
28:34
Kotzebue Police Department received a domestic violence
28:37
report. This time the offender was the
28:40
mayor's son, Amos, and the victim was his girlfriend,
28:44
Susanna Susu Norton, who was six months pregnant.
28:49
When officers arrived at the scene, the young woman was in
28:52
tears and her right eye was swollen shut.
28:57
According to the report filed by city Police Sergeant Norman
29:01
Hughes. Susanna was trying to prevent
29:03
him from drinking more, so she poured out all of his beer.
29:08
In reaction, Amos Richards grabbed her by the hair and
29:12
dragged her around the house. He repeatedly kicked her in the
29:17
face, the head, her back and her stomach.
29:21
She attempted to block his strikes to her head by holding
29:26
her arms up in front. The young woman's forearms were
29:29
very swollen. Despite these vicious details of
29:35
this assault, the Sergeant categorized the criminal
29:40
complaint as a misdemeanor 4th degree assault, which is the
29:46
lowest level and the least serious degree of assault.
29:52
Due to the severity of the beating she suffered, Susanna
29:56
Susu Norton went into premature labour only two weeks later.
30:01
The baby only weighed 3.1 lbs, but like her mother, she was a
30:08
survivor. Susannah named her Eden.
30:11
The baby struggled with multiple health problems, and not just
30:15
from her being premature. The Office of Children's
30:18
Services became involved and she was temporarily placed with a
30:22
foster family in late January 2020.
30:26
Amos Richards faced charges for abuse against Susannah Norton
30:30
when she was pregnant. Once again, the law was on the
30:33
family side, and Magistrate Miggles, who had helped his
30:37
brother Anthony years prior, allowed Amos Richards to plead
30:42
guilty to a single count of reckless endangerment.
30:47
Despite his horrific abuse, Susanna stayed with him.
30:53
They even planned to travel to Anchorage together to finalize
30:57
Eden's adoption. But then Amos Richards stopped
31:01
responding to the text from the Sandburgs, who were Eden's
31:06
foster parents, Only days before Susannah was killed in 2022,
31:12
Alaska's Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Investigator
31:16
Anne Sears began looking into Susannah Norton's case and even
31:21
met with Eden's foster family. Strangely and suspiciously,
31:27
after Anne Sears started learning more about Susanna
31:30
Norton and Amos Richards, she resigned from her position only
31:35
five months in. She had been the first dedicated
31:39
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons investigator and the
31:43
first Alaska Native woman to be a state trooper, just like all
31:48
the rest of the people. Kyle Hopkins and Alaska Daily
31:52
News tried to interview and Sears declined.
31:56
In June of 2024, Kyle Hopkins again returned to the former
32:01
mayor and his son's property. This time when he arrived, a man
32:06
answered the door at the back house, told the reporter we're
32:10
not interested and quickly shut the door.
32:13
The Newsroom at Alaska Daily News sent certified letters to
32:18
the Richards family detailing their findings during the
32:21
investigation, along with calls, texts, letters and Facebook
32:27
messages. No one in the family has ever
32:31
responded. The Kotzebue police never
32:34
interviewed Susannah Norton's mother, who lived three houses
32:40
down from the Richard's properties where her daughter
32:44
was killed. They never talked to any of
32:49
Susanna Norton's relatives or friends.
32:51
None of the neighbors who lived in the same plot of land were
32:56
ever interviewed. In 2021, Eden's adoptive mother,
33:01
Leslie Sundberg, filed a formal complaint against the Kotzebue
33:06
Police Department, accusing them of dishonesty and
33:11
untruthfulness. In her complaint written to the
33:14
Alaska Police Standards Council, she states, and I quote one must
33:20
wonder if there are unethical reasons why in need of Alaskan
33:24
woman, mother of three, daughter, niece, sister, aunt
33:30
and well known community members, murder has been swept
33:35
under the rug. She never received a response
33:40
when Alaska Daily News inquired to the council as to why the
33:44
council claimed that they don't investigate complaints of such a
33:48
nature when a criminal investigation is ongoing, as it
33:53
would interfere with the process.
33:57
Except there is no investigation happening.
34:00
They can claim that her homicide is technically an open case, but
34:06
there have literally been no steps taken toward investigating
34:12
her murder, much less bringing anyone to justice.
34:16
According to the Sandburgs, Eden's adoptive parents,
34:21
Sergeant Hughes, informed them that he was unable to collect
34:26
certain evidence, which resulted in the search warrant being
34:31
rejected by a judge. Susanna's mother, Mama Sue
34:36
Norton, was never contacted by the police about her daughter's
34:42
murder. She learned that Susanna's
34:46
official cause of death was homicide when she received her
34:51
daughter's death certificate in the mail.
34:55
The certificate listed her cause of death as asphyxiation due to
35:00
obstruction of Airways and compression of neck.
35:05
And this is where her case sits. No progress, no answers, no
35:12
justice. And the Alaska police refused to
35:16
even consider reopening Jennifer Kirk's case even though she was
35:23
clearly a victim of domestic violence and was murdered.
35:28
What is known about both of these women's tragic deaths as
35:33
how they were destroyed by the cycle of violence within the
35:39
Richards family. It is not at all surprising to
35:44
learn that the Richards sons were violent, controlling men,
35:50
considering their father was an abuser himself.
35:55
Most likely Clement Richards Senior was a victim of domestic
36:00
violence himself by his own father or mother or someone else
36:05
since the cycle of violence is multi generational.
36:09
But this is just speculation. A decade before he was an
36:14
elected official, Clement Richards Senior had been charged
36:18
with and pleaded guilty to domestic abuse against his wife,
36:25
born in 1961 in the city of Kotzebue.
36:28
There isn't much information about Clement Richards Senior's
36:31
background. He lived in the town his entire
36:34
life and at some point married a woman named Annette.
36:38
The couple had two sons, Amos and Clement Junior.
36:42
In 1989, Annette was 8 months pregnant with her third son when
36:47
she fell victim to her husband's rage.
36:51
He had beaten her before, and she had an earlier restraining
36:55
order against him. However, when Clement Richard
37:00
Senior kicked her in the stomach when she was with child and she
37:05
began to bleed profusely, he was arrested for felony domestic
37:11
violence assault. Anthony was born the day after
37:15
the assault and his father was given six months in jail after
37:20
pleading no contest. When Clement Richards Senior won
37:25
a seat in the City Council in 1999, ten years after the felony
37:31
assault conviction, no one brought up his criminal past.
37:35
When he was elected vice mayor and then mayor of Kotzebue and
37:39
later on the mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough, still
37:45
no one mentioned his violent criminal past.
37:49
Meanwhile, his wife and victim, Annette joined the State
37:54
Troopers office where she became an assistant to the state
37:58
prosecutors, one of whom would become the judge who handled
38:04
domestic violence cases against her sons.
38:08
From a criminological perspective, the son's behaviour
38:11
fits perfectly within social learning theory developed by
38:17
Albert Bandura. Social learning theory is
38:20
centered on observational learning and environmental
38:24
interactions. In other words, people learn by
38:27
watching others. It posits that we learn
38:30
behaviors, attitudes, and cognitive processes from others
38:35
around us. Individuals, but in particular
38:40
children, observe, model, and imitate others in their lives,
38:45
especially adults. A child exposed to violence,
38:50
whether directly towards them or witnessing violence toward
38:53
others, will then emulate the same behavior.
38:58
What is key to social learning theory, though, is that social
39:02
reinforcement is present as a reason for the person to model
39:08
their actions after another. This can come in the form of
39:12
something they desire or reward. The Alaska State prosecutors
39:18
allowed these monsters time and time again to plead guilty to
39:25
lesser misdemeanor charges. They didn't even indicate
39:30
domestic abuse. This way, they completely
39:33
avoided serving any present time.
39:37
On multiple occasions, state prosecutors allowed these
39:42
violent abusers to receive little to no punishment for the
39:47
harm they inflicted. The earliest known case on
39:51
record for their sons is from 2013.
39:55
Clement Richards Junior, the eldest son, was charged with
40:00
domestic violence assault after a woman alleged he punched her
40:04
in the face. He was given a deal.
40:08
He pled guilty to harassment charges instead and received a
40:14
suspended sentence. This effectively erased the
40:18
conviction. From his record in a 2014 case
40:24
of felony charges of sexual assault and attempted sexual
40:28
assault that were brought against Anthony Richards, a
40:32
grand jury indicted him on the counts.
40:36
However, the prosecutor, Rachel Arns, made a deal with him in
40:42
return for pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count of
40:47
indecent exposure. He not only didn't do any time
40:52
in jail, but he also avoided having to register as a sex
40:57
offender. This prosecutor is now a state
41:02
Superior Court judge in another incident in which Anthony
41:07
Richards faced sexual assault charges.
41:10
The Superior Court judge on the case, Paul Rootman, described
41:15
the defendant's parents as fine third parties during his bail
41:21
hearing. This crime involved a different
41:25
woman other than Jennifer Kirk or the woman from the previously
41:29
mentioned case the year before. The judge set the bond at $2500.
41:37
This woman whom Anthony had attacked was terrified and she
41:43
was appalled because in such a small town of only 2900
41:49
residents at the time, he could easily find her and come after
41:55
her. The judge justified setting
41:59
Anthony Richards bond at such an extremely low amount because he
42:04
had worked with the defendant's mother and his father was an
42:09
elected official. Even though under the Alaska
42:13
Judicial Code of Conduct, a judge and a quote shall not
42:17
allow family, social, political or other relationships to
42:22
influence the judges judicial conduct or judgement.
42:26
Judge Rootman openly did just that, citing how he worked
42:32
alongside the defendant's mother who knows how to handle these
42:35
kinds of cases. In November 2015, only one month
42:41
after Clement Richards senior was elected Mayor, Jennifer Kirk
42:46
was admitted to the local hospital.
42:49
She had been punched by her boyfriend Anthony Richards five
42:53
times. When Officer Nate Lacour arrived
42:57
at the residence, the mayor was extremely intoxicated, asking
43:02
how can I help you 3 different times before slamming the door
43:07
in the officer's face. He reported these details in his
43:11
December 6th affidavit. It comes as no surprise that
43:17
Officer Lacourse no longer works for the Cots Abuse Police
43:22
Department. Only a few days later,
43:25
Magistrate Judge Stephen Brady lowered Anthony Richard's bail
43:30
to $100 and he was freed. The violence inflicted by the
43:36
Richard Sons only escalated over the years.
43:40
On March 14th, 2017, Jennifer Kerr contacted the police after
43:46
she had been strangled to the point of not being able to see
43:50
an almost lost consciousness. Based on a 2005 Alaskan law,
43:57
this incident alone should have been sufficient enough to charge
44:02
him with non fatal strangulation.
44:06
Ironically, Alaska was one of the first states to recognize
44:12
how the act of strangulation can increase the risk of suicide and
44:17
is often a precursor to homicide and domestic violence related
44:23
killings. Once again, the same state
44:26
prosecutor, Rachel Arns, allowed Anthony Richards to plead guilty
44:32
to 1 count of misdemeanor assault.
44:37
The magistrate at least pointed out the seriousness and danger
44:41
of his actions, but that wasn't enough to change his behavior
44:47
and he never faced any real repercussions for his abuse.
44:54
All three of the mayor's sons were violent abusers with
44:58
excessive criminal records. There were 31 criminal cases
45:04
amongst them, including more than 800 pages of charging
45:09
documents, testimony, sentencing orders and protective order
45:14
requests. In 12 of the cases, one of the
45:18
sons was charged with domestic violence.
45:21
The victims involved six different women, including
45:25
relatives, current girlfriends and former girlfriends,
45:30
including homicide victims Jennifer Kirk and Susanna Susu
45:36
Norton. Seven of the cases were filed
45:39
while Clement Richard Senior held office.
45:42
Between 1999 and 2018. The three sons combined had 16
45:49
counts of domestic violence, including five felonies.
45:54
The other cases were noted to involve driving while
45:57
intoxicated, indecent exposure, and trespassing, but as
46:02
previously mentioned, some of these charges, or almost all of
46:07
them, were much more violent than they were categorized and
46:11
convicted for. Although the case is varied in
46:14
specifics, there appeared to be a pattern in the way they
46:18
unfolded and were handled. First, someone would contact the
46:23
police, either one of the girlfriends or a concerned
46:26
neighbor. When an officer arrived at the
46:30
residence, the victim would have visible injuries, whether it was
46:34
bruising, marks around her neck or a bloody nose.
46:39
The girl would tell the officer how one of the sons had punched
46:43
her, kicked her, strangled her, maybe all three.
46:48
What would instigate the violence ranged from trying to
46:51
stop one of the sons from drinking and attempt to leave
46:55
them or refusing to have sex. It was noted that in two of
46:59
these cases, the mayor and his wife refused to cooperate with
47:04
the police. The police would arrest the
47:07
sons, but the assault would be categorized as a low level
47:11
misdemeanor. When the son appeared at their
47:14
initial court hearing, the local judge or magistrate, who was
47:18
sometimes a former state prosecutor that had worked with
47:22
her mother, they would set bail abnormally low.
47:26
It was even on record by one of the judges that he told one of
47:31
their victims that the mayor and his wife would ensure that the
47:36
son stayed out of trouble until the trial.
47:39
And yet a criminal trial would never come.
47:43
Instead, the sons were offered hearings to change their place.
47:47
Then the state prosecutor would lessen the felony charges to
47:52
misdemeanors, ultimately slapping them on the wrist with
47:56
a promise that they would do better.
47:59
These actions by sworn public officials are an outrage.
48:04
They are disgusting, self-serving individuals who are
48:10
a complete betrayal of the public's faith and trust in the
48:15
police and the legal system, the little that still exists.
48:20
Unfortunately, these unethical and neglectful actions are not
48:25
isolated to these cases, nor to the city of Kotzebue.
48:30
There is widespread incompetence, corruption, and
48:33
neglect exhibited by law enforcement in Alaska, fueled by
48:39
a lack of resources, lack of education and training, and
48:43
systemic racism. In 2021, an investigative report
48:48
by Alaska Daily News revealed the absolute failure of their
48:54
law enforcement agencies, including local and state police
48:58
officers and Alaska State Troopers, to collect DNA from
49:04
relevant offenders. Under Alaska State law, as it is
49:08
in 31 other states, a person who has been arrested for or
49:12
convicted of any felony, in addition to specific misdemeanor
49:17
crimes that are committed against a person such a sexual
49:21
assault, must have their DNA obtained.
49:25
One in four persons arrested and convicted since 1995 for these
49:32
qualifiable crimes did not have their DNA collected by law
49:39
enforcement. In Alaska.
49:41
It was discovered that 21,577 offenders DNA was never taken
49:52
and of those individuals, 1555 are now deceased.
49:59
Needless to say, how many murderers, rapists, and other
50:05
violent offenders were never placed in the state and federal
50:10
DNA databases because of this and have gotten away with
50:15
committing crimes due to this lapse in protocol.
50:20
Even more disturbing is how many of the departments and state
50:24
troopers weren't even aware that it was a law and therefore a
50:30
requirement of their job. For the other departments and
50:34
troopers who failed to collect DNA, it simply wasn't a
50:38
priority. To fully understand these cases,
50:42
it is important to discuss the many factors and challenges that
50:47
exist in Alaska, in particular for the Alaska Natives.
50:53
Alaska has a unique set of complications, elements and
50:58
factors, both environmental and cultural, which add further
51:04
challenges to the missing and murdered indigenous persons
51:08
crisis. Alaska is one of the most
51:11
breathtaking natural landscapes in the world, but in that
51:16
vastness lies isolation and extreme vulnerability.
51:23
The land also creates difficulties of a practical
51:26
nature and connection between law enforcement and Indigenous
51:31
communities. Being able to reach and
51:35
therefore aid and assist Indigenous persons in times of
51:39
trauma and violence has been recorded as being a huge factor
51:44
and being able to solve these cases.
51:47
It has been recorded that it can take several days for a law
51:52
enforcement agent to travel to the scene of a homicide, and it
51:56
can even take months under certain circumstances.
52:00
In terms of natural beauty and land, Alaska is one of the most
52:05
expansive. It covers 586,412 square miles,
52:13
but it is the least populous state with 1.26 persons per
52:20
square mile. With territory that is larger
52:24
than the combined space of the three largest states in the
52:30
country. It's a lands or home to 229
52:35
indigenous tribes. To put this into perspective, as
52:40
of 2026 there were 575 federally recognized tribes.
52:47
Alaska is distinct in that the vast majority of their tribes do
52:52
not have formal reservations. Natives in Alaska were met with
52:57
the darkness of colonialism hundreds of years after the rest
53:02
of the nation. Russian explorers were the first
53:06
to cross into Alaska in 1741, when they came face to face with
53:11
the Unanghakh people. The Russians treated them in the
53:14
same hostile and violent ways, enslaving and killing thousands
53:20
of people. The Russians in comparison were
53:23
a small group of men, but they exhibited extreme force and
53:28
violence against the indigenous people.
53:32
Within 50 years, 80% of the population had died due to
53:38
warfare, slavery and disease. the US purchased Alaska in 1867
53:45
and by then only 50,000 Alaskan natives existed.
53:52
Alaska was essentially ignored and then its resources exploited
53:57
by the US government up until the termination era.
54:00
Policies which were enacted in 1959 and then it officially
54:06
became a state, along with wiping out their jurisdictional
54:11
powers, erect havoc upon their lands and culture.
54:17
Systemic racism exists everywhere for Indigenous
54:21
persons in the United States, but research shows that it may
54:27
even be higher in Alaska. Alaska leads the nation and
54:31
having the highest overrepresentation of Native
54:36
Americans and Alaska Natives who are in prison.
54:40
There is little doubt that many of these convicted offenders are
54:44
in fact innocent. They are victims of biased
54:46
investigations and legal inequalities that stem from
54:51
historical and systemic racism and discrimination.
54:56
Similar to the vile Jim Crow laws of the American South,
55:01
Alaska enforced its own segregation policies and laws
55:06
with its No Natives Allowed signs that prevented Indigenous
55:10
people from entering businesses and segregated them from
55:15
educational institutions. These rules were not often
55:19
written into formal law, but they were widespread practices
55:24
among society. Alaska's government is also
55:27
structured differently from the rest of the nation because it is
55:32
more centralized, it distributes its services and resources based
55:37
on the size and needs of a region.
55:40
This leads to a gross imbalance of policing and legal services
55:45
that are provided in rural areas, in particular amongst
55:49
tribal villages in what is referred to as the Alaska Bush
55:53
Country. Many tribal communities are so
55:58
far away from roads that they are only accessible by boat or
56:04
by air. This leaves many Alaska Natives
56:08
without any protection from law enforcement.
56:12
Now, in all other states with indigenous tribes, they have
56:16
their own tribal police and thus their own jurisdiction.
56:21
However, Alaska is 1 of 6 mandatory public law to 80
56:27
states. The law, established in 1953
56:31
under the termination era policies, transferred federal
56:35
jurisdiction to the states, which dissolved the existing
56:40
shared concurrent jurisdiction with tribal governments.
56:46
In other words, this gave the state of Alaska full
56:51
jurisdiction over all crimes except for some, under limited
56:56
circumstances. The state police were now handed
57:00
the sole responsibility of policing, arresting and
57:05
prosecution, and without any increase in funding, much less
57:11
any educational or training resources.
57:15
Lawlessness across the lands was born.
57:20
What is weird, and particularly unsettling, is that nothing in
57:25
the law to 80 specifies that criminal jurisdiction was
57:30
exclusive to the state. There is no language in the law
57:35
that excludes tribal governments from having jurisdiction, but
57:40
Alaska has denied them any relevant funding, justifying it
57:46
by stating the law has stripped them of any power.
57:50
Research shows that only one in three communities in Alaska has
57:55
a law enforcement presence, and almost all of them who do not
58:00
are Alaska Native. There are 300 state troopers in
58:04
Alaska who are considered to be the best trained and are the
58:09
highest paid officers in the state.
58:12
However, they're posted within only 11 of the 170 small
58:19
villages to put the scarcity of law enforcement into context.
58:24
In Northwestern Alaska, 9 villages encompass land that is
58:29
as large as the state of Ohio. Across this area, there are only
58:36
5 troopers that serve it. Most Alaska Native villages are
58:41
watched over what are known as VSP OS Village Public Safety
58:47
Officers. These are men and women who are
58:50
trained and paid by the state to handle everything from fires to
58:55
water rescue to acting as backup for law enforcement.
59:00
However, not only are they commonly unarmed, but there are
59:03
currently only 40 to 55 VSPO officers.
59:08
There is such a lack of law enforcement in these villages
59:12
that some have even resorted to hiring applicants with criminal
59:18
backgrounds. We are not talking about petty
59:20
crimes either. In Stebbins, Alaska, a village
59:25
of two different Native communities, all seven of its
59:28
officers had pled guilty to charges of domestic violence
59:34
before becoming officers. The people in these communities
59:38
have been left with two dire choices. 1 is that they continue
59:44
to have no presence of law enforcement at all in their
59:48
communities, making them extremely vulnerable to acts of
59:53
violence and other kinds of crime.
59:56
Or they can be so-called protected by the same type of
1:00:01
men who helped to perpetuate this crisis of violence against
1:00:07
Alaska Native women and girls. The lack of resources.
1:00:11
Combined with female victims being a low priority and
1:00:15
difficult accessibility has led to countless delayed
1:00:21
investigations and tainted crime scenes.
1:00:25
Alaska has the highest rate of domestic abuse in the country,
1:00:31
and females are the victim of rape at three times the national
1:00:36
average. Alaska has the fourth highest
1:00:39
number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in
1:00:44
the country, according to official crime report data from
1:00:48
2020. For seven years in a row, Alaska
1:00:53
ranked number one in the nation for murders of women committed
1:01:01
by men. In single victim single offender
1:01:05
homicides, the rate is 3.4 victims per 100,000, which is
1:01:12
roughly 2 1/2 times the national rate.
1:01:17
Of these victims, over 40% were Alaska Native females.
1:01:23
This equates to the homicide rate of Indigenous women killed
1:01:26
by men being 12.63 per 100,000 residents.
1:01:34
That's 10 times the rate of white female victims in Alaska.
1:01:39
This violence is not isolated to Indigenous persons living in the
1:01:45
Bush country or the wilderness of Alaska.
1:01:48
In fact, Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, ranks third in the
1:01:53
nation for missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girl cases
1:01:58
across all cities in the country.
1:02:02
Contrary to what some may believe, which is frequently and
1:02:06
inaccurately portrayed by the media, the vast majority of
1:02:11
perpetrators who commit sexual violence against Native women
1:02:17
are non-native men. One study revealed that as high
1:02:21
as 95% of Indigenous Native women who were reported victims
1:02:28
of violence were attacked by non Indigenous men.
1:02:32
The FBI can be contacted for assistance in cases including
1:02:38
abduction, sexual assault and homicide, but they are either
1:02:44
too weighed down by their own cases and or they have little to
1:02:49
no connection with the tribe. This often results in dropped
1:02:54
charges, failed prosecutions, disproportionate unfair
1:02:59
sentencing and an all around lack of justice for the victims
1:03:05
and their families. For example, 65.2% of cases in
1:03:11
2018 which the federal government elected not to
1:03:16
prosecute were crimes that involved physical and sexual
1:03:21
assaults, sexual exploitation and the failure to register as a
1:03:27
sex offender with no accountability.
1:03:30
This encourages some men, in particular non indigenous men,
1:03:36
to continue to abuse and rape indigenous women, knowing they
1:03:42
are very unlikely to face charges, much less serve time in
1:03:48
jail or prison. Indigenous women are seen as
1:03:51
invisible. They are unprotected by the law,
1:03:55
or at least the system treats them as such, and thus they are
1:04:01
perceived as disposable. This only increases their
1:04:06
vulnerability to being victims of violence, including sexual
1:04:12
assault and murder. Homicide is the third leading
1:04:17
cause of death for Indigenous women.
1:04:20
According to the National Crime Information Center database.
1:04:24
Over 5600 Native American women were recorded as missing, but
1:04:31
the Department of Justice only had a record of 116 cases.
1:04:37
Due to the failure of collecting accurate data, the true number
1:04:43
of missing and murdered indigenous persons is unknown
1:04:49
and likely grossly underreported.
1:04:53
Much progress and important strides have been made in
1:04:57
raising awareness of this crisis, especially in recent
1:05:01
years. Various laws and policies have
1:05:05
advanced data collection, expanded jurisdictional
1:05:09
authority, and encourage collaboration amongst tribal and
1:05:15
non tribal law enforcement agencies.
1:05:18
The Violence Against Women Act was recently expanded to give
1:05:22
tribes more authority to prosecute non natives who commit
1:05:26
crimes on their lands. However, under this act, the
1:05:30
jurisdiction was limited to crimes involving domestic or
1:05:35
dating violence and only if the offender was known to the tribe.
1:05:41
In other words, the offender had to have some kind of ties or
1:05:45
relationship to the tribe to have jurisdiction for all other
1:05:50
non-native offenders, including men who raped and murdered
1:05:55
Native women. The tribal police still have no
1:06:00
authority. Further, of the more than 500
1:06:04
federally recognized tribes, only 18 were approved to
1:06:09
exercise this jurisdiction. It sounds to me as if this law
1:06:14
was expanded to make the lawmakers appear as if they were
1:06:19
invested in the problem, but they aren't committed enough to
1:06:24
hand over any real authority and thus jurisdiction to the tribes.
1:06:30
Mainstream media like Netflix for example, has brought some
1:06:35
attention to the missing and murdered indigenous persons
1:06:39
crisis and yet somehow this ongoing epidemic of violence is
1:06:43
not a priority for lawmakers and it goes largely ignored by the
1:06:51
mainstream media, including the majority of true crime
1:06:54
podcasters. How can this keep happening?
1:06:58
Why is it that year after year, case after case, almost nothing
1:07:04
seems to change? I have covered several stories
1:07:08
over the last few years on missing and murdered Indigenous
1:07:12
women and girls, and at least on the surface, there appears to
1:07:17
have been significant progress in the law and in societies
1:07:23
recognition and compassion for the crisis.
1:07:28
And yet the problem? This epidemic of violence still
1:07:32
exists year after year and countless Indigenous people go
1:07:38
missing or murdered, and too few of these victims ever receive
1:07:44
true justice. The perpetrators are either
1:07:48
never found or aren't prosecuted for a wide range of reasons, and
1:07:54
those who are convicted seldom receive fair and appropriate
1:07:59
criminal punishment. Our nation has never officially
1:08:05
and formally addressed and apologized for the acts of
1:08:11
violence perpetuated against the indigenous native people of this
1:08:17
country, including mass genocide, the taking of their
1:08:22
children from the reservations, and attempts of forced
1:08:28
assimilation. Our history books and schools
1:08:32
barely whisper of what they did, and there are elitist amongst
1:08:38
all of our institutions who try to bury the truth.
1:08:43
Many people in society, especially those of affluence
1:08:48
and power, pretend it's That's still an issue, a historical
1:08:54
stain, an ongoing epidemic of the generational trauma and
1:09:02
violence our country created. Many scholars, lawmakers and
1:09:07
advocates have pointed out that until the government addresses
1:09:14
how it's actions created a snowball effect of promoting and
1:09:21
encouraging violence against Indigenous women, nothing will
1:09:27
ever change. I've shared this information
1:09:31
before, and I will again and again until something real
1:09:37
changes. The murder rate for Indigenous
1:09:40
women and girls and two spirit individuals is as high as 10
1:09:46
times the national average, and yet 95% of their cases have no
1:09:57
mainstream media coverage. We must change that.
1:10:02
The culture, traditions, and customs of the Indigenous people
1:10:08
are beautiful, inspirational, and unique, and reflect the
1:10:14
strength, pride, and honor each of their tribe holds.
1:10:20
Despite the lands, lives, and ways of life that were ripped
1:10:26
away from them by colonialism, the patriarchy's attempts at
1:10:32
assimilation, and the incessant bias and discrimination they
1:10:38
still face, Indigenous people remain devoted to preserving
1:10:44
their heritage and fighting for justice for their people.
1:10:50
It is up to all of us to invest in caring about what happens to
1:10:55
them, as we should care about all people, regardless of their
1:11:00
class, their race, religion, culture, or gender.
1:11:06
By continuing to share these cases and their stories, putting
1:11:10
a face to the crimes, maybe one day our society will finally
1:11:18
begin to realize that every name deserves to be known and every
1:11:24
victim deserves justice. If anyone out there listening
1:11:29
has any information regarding the deaths of Jennifer Kirk and
1:11:36
Susanna Susu Norton, please contact the Alaska State
1:11:41
Troopers Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Investigation
1:11:46
Unit at 907-451-5100. If you wish to remain anonymous,
1:11:54
you can submit tips through the AK Tips smartphone app or
1:11:59
online. I will put this information in
1:12:02
the episode description. Thank you so much for listening
1:12:06
to this extremely important episode.
1:12:10
Until next time, stay safe and watch out for Shades of Murder
1:12:17
happening in the streets next door and especially inside your
1:12:25
own home. Shades of Murder is created,
1:12:29
researched, written, and edited by Alita Caldwell.
1:12:34
Original music stranger composed by Stereo Code.