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Memory on trial: the manhunt for Alaska's most elusive mass murderer Item Type Thesis Authors Retherford, Brittany A. Download date 09/10/2021 03:07:55 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4822 MEMORY ON TRIAL: THE MANHUNT FOR ALASKA’S MOST ELUSIVE MASS MURDERER A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF THE ARTS By Brittany A. Retherford, B.A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2014 © Copyright by Brittany A. Retherford Abstract The fallibility and malleability of human memory played a confounding and troublesome role in the investigation of the 1982 murder of eight people on a fishing boat, theInvestor , in Craig, Alaska, and subsequent trials of law enforcements’ only suspect, John Kenneth Peel. Human memory — including its inherent subjectivity and susceptibility to coercion and change — ultimately resulted in an unsatisfactory resolution for victims’ families and friends, law enforcement, witnesses, and others associated with the events, investigation and legal proceed- ings. This thesis utilizes trial records, police investigation files, newspaper stories, and personal interviews to provide a summary view of the events surrounding the murders, including what is known about the murders, as well as, the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest, two civil grand juries, two jury trials, and the eventual acquittal of John Kenneth Peel. Limitations of memory are analyzed in the context of the overarching historical narrative of a booming com- mercial fishing industry and a rural justice system, including a focus on eyewitness testimony and collective memory. Together these frayed cords of memory helped ensure that despite the millions of dollars and thousands of hours that have been devoted to it, the 1982 Investor tragedy remains the largest unsolved mass homicide in Alaska history, a cold case that has not been forgotten. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Signature Page ................................................................................................................................. i Title Page ....................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................xv Introduction: The Murders ...............................................................................................................1 Part I: Murder, Methods, and Memories Chapter 1: The Literature Review and Methods ............................................................................14 The Nature of Memory ...........................................................................................................25 Methods...................................................................................................................................31 Chapter 2: A Seiner to Remember .................................................................................................35 Chapter 3: The Manhunt Begins ....................................................................................................43 Chapter 4: The Scene of the Crime ................................................................................................49 1970s: A Decade of Change ....................................................................................................50 Craig in Focus .........................................................................................................................52 Mayhem on the Last Frontier ..................................................................................................57 Chapter 5: A Most Unexpected Season ..........................................................................................64 Part II: The Search for a Killer Chapter 6: Mystery of the Skiff Driver ..........................................................................................71 vii The Sightings ..........................................................................................................................73 The Hill Bar “Show-Up” ........................................................................................................79 Chapter 7: Dead-End Leads ..........................................................................................................82 Crewman-As-Murderer Theory ..............................................................................................82 Empty Memories .....................................................................................................................84 The Hoax .................................................................................................................................88 Chapter 8: Hoping for a Miracle ....................................................................................................90 New Eyewitness Emerges .......................................................................................................94 Stogsdill’s “Plan of Attack” ....................................................................................................96 Chapter 9: March Miracles ..........................................................................................................101 The “Confession” ..................................................................................................................101 A Star Witness is Born ........................................................................................................107 Chapter 10: The Arrest .................................................................................................................111 The Motive ............................................................................................................................115 Profile of a Mass Shooter ......................................................................................................117 Part III: Memory on Trial Chapter 11: The Grand Jury Indictment(s) ..................................................................................121 Larry Demmert Jr. .................................................................................................................128 Dawn Holmstrom ..................................................................................................................131 Brian Polinkus .......................................................................................................................134 Allegations of Misconduct ....................................................................................................135 Chapter 12: Cross-Examining Memory .......................................................................................142 The Expert Witness ...............................................................................................................143 “He’s the one!” ......................................................................................................................145 Reaching a Verdict ................................................................................................................156 viii Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................158 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................161 Appendix A: Timeline of Investor Murders .................................................................................165 Appendix B: Timeline of Key Events ..........................................................................................171 ix List of Figures Page Figure 1: A view of the Investor fully engulfed in flames while anchored near Fish Egg Island just north of Craig, AK. ............................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2: Volunteers douse the fire aboard theInvestor with seawater. ......................................... 3 Figure 3: Irene and Mark Coulthurst, both age twenty-eight when they were killed, had been sweethearts at Bellingham High School in Bellingham, Wash. ............................................... 7 Figure 4: John Coulthurst, age four, and Kimberly Coulthurst, age five, take a break from playing and pose for a photo in a tree. ................................................................................................... 8 Figure 5: Mike Stewart, age nineteen, was Mark Coulthurst’s first cousin. He lived in Bellingham, Wash. .................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 6: Chris Heyman, age eighteen, was the son of a business colleague of Mark Coulthurst. He lived in San Rafael,