This is wild! A South African man has been found guilty of murdering two Native Alaskan women — after his date stole his phone and found videos of him murdering someone!
According to the shocking court testimony, per ABC News, Brian Steven Smith was out on a date in Anchorage with a sex worker in September 2019 when he left her in his truck alone as he went to an ATM to get cash. While he was gone, the woman stole his phone — presumably just for money, completely unaware of what was on it. But she got more than she bargained for when she discovered it had 39 images and 12 videos showing him murdering 30-year-old Kathleen Jo Henry. The horrific video showed Kathleen being beaten and strangled at the Marriott hotel in the city, as a man off-camera said:
“In my movies, everybody always dies. What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know when they are being serial-killed.”
Terrifying.
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The woman later handed over an SD card with the info to the cops. She first claimed she found it on the ground — labeled “Homicide at midtown Marriott.” But eventually she testified she had stolen the cell and transferred the files to the SD card before ultimately losing the original phone. Either way, the contents are pretty unambiguous.
Even though his face wasn’t shown in the clips, authorities recognized the man’s South African accident from a previous interaction with him. He was also registered at the Anchorage Marriott in early September, matching the timestamp on the video. And his phone location data even matched up with where he was seen dumping the victim’s body days later.
In her closing statements at the trial this week, Anchorage Deputy District Attorney Heather Nobrega told the jury:
“You saw the defendant repeatedly strangle Kathleen Henry. You saw him step on her throat; you saw him step on her stomach. You see him fondle her and pinch her breasts. You see him poke her in the eye several times. … ‘Just take it. You live, you die.’ He’s saying this as he’s taking his hands on and off of her throat.”
According to DA Brittany Dunlop, while Brian was being interrogated over Henry’s death, he admitted to murdering another woman “with no prompting.” She explained:
“He tells the troopers in the bathroom, ‘I’m going to make you famous.’ He comes back in and says … ‘You guys got some more time? You want to keep talking?’ And then discloses this other murder.”
The victim was Veronica Abouchuk, 52, who was killed in August 2018. She’d been found with a bullet in her skull — and detectives found proof they interacted when they searched his home and discovered a deleted drive they were able to restore. It contained videos of Veronica before and after her death — a murder that occurred when she “refused to shower,” per Nobrega, who noted:
“It just pissed him off and he went to his garage and he got his gun and he shot her in the head.”
WTF.
People reported that cops also found the gun at his home. Despite literally admitting to all this, Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney argued he confessed after “eight hours of pre-planned psychological warfare” and that the woman who stole the phone was an unreliable witness. But it wasn’t enough to convince a jury, not against video evidence. On Thursday, they found him guilty of all 14 crimes he was up against, including first- and second-degree murder, sexual assault, and tampering with evidence. His trial has been set for July, where he faces life in prison.
Shockingly, despite the horrific crimes, his wife, Stephanie Bissland, is standing by his side, she told the AP:
“He was very good for me, but he had another life, I guess. … I said my vows.”
Damn. That’s some next-level commitment. Oof.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the victim’s loved ones. We hope this justice helps in their healing process. See some of them react inside the courtroom to the conviction (below):
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below).
[Image via Alaska’s News Source/YouTube]
