Kirby Anthoney is a convicted murderer serving a 357-year sentence in Alaska for the March 1987 rape and killing of Nancy Newman and her two young daughters in Anchorage. He was Nancy’s nephew by marriage, had been living with the family, and was 23 years old when he committed the crimes. His 1988 trial became one of the most notorious in Alaska history, both for his decision to act as his own lawyer and for the forensic and behavioral science evidence used against him.
The Anchorage Murders
On March 15, 1987, Anchorage police responded to a downtown apartment and found three bodies. Nancy Newman, 33, had been beaten and sexually assaulted on her bed. Her eight-year-old daughter Melissa was in another room, also sexually assaulted. Her three-year-old daughter Angie had been left with her throat cut and had bled to death.1UPI Archives. Relative Held on $3 Million Bail for Killing Mother and Two Children Nancy’s husband and the girls’ father, John Newman, was out of Alaska at the time.2UPI Archives. A Suspect in One of the Most Grisly Crimes
Who Anthoney Was to the Family
Anthoney was John Newman’s nephew. The Newmans and Anthoney had all relocated from Idaho to Alaska about two years before the killings, and the family had taken Anthoney in when he needed a place to stay. Police believe he killed the family after being asked to move out. He also carried a violent record from Idaho: at the time he left the state, he was under investigation for the rape, beating, and choking of a 12-year-old girl.2UPI Archives. A Suspect in One of the Most Grisly Crimes
How Investigators Tied Him to the Scene
Anthoney surfaced as a suspect early. Physical evidence placed him inside the apartment: body hairs at the scene, his fingerprints on a cookie jar Nancy used to store tips,1UPI Archives. Relative Held on $3 Million Bail for Killing Mother and Two Children and later his palm print as well. Pubic hair matching Anthoney was recovered from Melissa and from a washcloth. Lice egg casings on the evidence matched genital lice found on him, and green fibers on the washcloth matched wool gloves recovered at the scene.3Criminal Discourse Podcast. Newman Family Murders
Investigators had briefly put Anthoney under surveillance and dropped it. The arrest came after his roommate told police he was heading for the Canadian border instead of a scheduled interview. He was stopped at the border on March 19, 1987, initially held on a suspended-license charge, then transferred to Anchorage, where bail was set at $3 million. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, and one count of kidnapping.3Criminal Discourse Podcast. Newman Family Murders
The Trial and Sentence
The trial began in April 1988 and ran eight weeks. Anthoney represented himself throughout, acting as his own lawyer and ultimately taking the stand in his own defense.4WildBlue Press. Murder in the Family by Burl Barer
Two features of the prosecution’s case made legal history. It was the first time an FBI criminal profiler was allowed to testify as an expert witness at a criminal trial in the United States: Agent Judson Ray of the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, who had assisted Anchorage detectives during the investigation, was qualified by the court as an expert in the psychological profiling of violent offenders.3Criminal Discourse Podcast. Newman Family Murders Prosecutors also introduced allotyping, a pre-DNA method of analyzing biological evidence that had never before been presented to a jury.5WildBlue Press. Murder in the Family – Barer Tears
On June 3, 1988, the jury convicted Anthoney on all six counts. He was sentenced to 357 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole for roughly 120 years.3Criminal Discourse Podcast. Newman Family Murders
Where He Is Now
Anthoney has remained in Alaska custody since his conviction, with court records placing him at Spring Creek Correctional Center. He has continued to file legal challenges from prison. In one, he contested a July 2006 prison disciplinary finding of “mutual combat” that drew thirty days of punitive segregation, later reduced to fifteen. The superior court sided with him, holding the incident had been verbal rather than physical, and in April 2010 the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed, upholding his status as prevailing party and a $411.44 cost award.6Caselaw – FindLaw. State Department of Corrections v. Kirby D. Anthoney
Books and Television
Burl Barer’s true crime book Murder in the Family, first published in 2000, documents the investigation, the forensic breakthroughs, and the trial, and became a New York Times bestseller.4WildBlue Press. Murder in the Family by Burl Barer The case was also featured in The FBI Files in an episode titled “Death in Alaska,” centered on the forensic evidence and on profiler Judson Ray’s role in building the case.3Criminal Discourse Podcast. Newman Family Murders