Brian Steven Smith: 'In my movies, everyone dies'
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On 12th July 2019, Brian Steven Smith walked into a courtroom in Anchorage, Alaska. He was facing dozens of charges, including first-degree murder, sexual assault and misconduct involving a corpse.
An angry crowd gathered in the gallery, red handprints across their faces symbolising the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Indigenous women and girls who go missing each year. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women.
Join us at Crime+Investigation as we share the stories of Kathleen Henry and Veronica Abouchuk — two women who tragically became part of these alarming statistics.
The epidemic of violence against Indigenous women
Violence against Indigenous women is an epidemic. Many have strained relationships with law enforcement, meaning perpetrators of violence are rarely held accountable for their crimes. A disproportionately high number of Alaska Native women turn to sex work to escape their dangerous circumstances.
Kathleen Jo Henry wasn't a stranger to the police. She had spent time in Alaska's Highland Mountain Correctional Center for petty crime, which funded her addictions. Despite this, she was determined and creative — she obtained her GED while in prison and enjoyed writing poetry on her social media channels.
Less is known about Veronica Abouchuk, who was 52 years old when she was reported missing. The only certainty is she had a family who loved her dearly. Her daughter would later tell reporters: 'I hope [Brian Steven Smith] is swarmed with guilt someday knowing he stole so many people's joy.'
Both women experienced homelessness, which made them particularly vulnerable to assaults and theft.
Who was Brian Steven Smith?
Brian Steven Smith was born in South Africa on 23rd March 1971. Details about his childhood and early life haven't been documented. In September 2019, for reasons unknown, he immigrated to Alaska and became a US citizen.
At the time of Kathleen's murder, he was working at TownePlace Suites by Marriott in midtown Anchorage. He confessed to killing Veronica at the family home when his wife was out of town.
'In my movies, everybody always dies'
With the murder and disappearance of Indigenous women receiving less media coverage and police attention, Smith might have gotten away with his crimes. However, he was arrested in September 2019, shortly after arriving in the country.
He was caught after a sex worker stole his mobile phone and found several gruesome videos depicting extreme torture. Shaken, she copied the footage onto a memory card and handed it over to the police.
Videos and images were later shown to the jury. One man recalled: 'We… witnessed the most horrible thing we will ever see in our entire life... It was absolutely terrible, and I personally am going to therapy about it right now.'
Smith's face was never caught on camera, but his distinctive South African accent was. In one video, he says, 'In my movies, everybody always dies.' In another, as if speaking to an audience, he rambles, 'What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know when they are being serial-killed.'
His victim would later be identified as Kathleen, who would eventually succumb to her horrific injuries.
The trial
Once arrested, police were about to unearth another bombshell. During an eight-hour interrogation, Smith confessed to killing another woman — Veronica.
He said he brought her home while his wife was out of town. When he asked her to shower, she refused. Enraged, he found his pistol and shot her in the head. Officers would later find a skull with a single bullet wound just north of Anchorage.
During the trial, Smith showed no remorse for his crimes. Neither the victim's impact statements nor the jury's trauma moved him. The judge would later state, 'Both [women] were treated about as horribly as a person can be treated.'
Smith was found guilty of all charges in under two hours of deliberation. As Alaska doesn't have the death penalty, he received 226 years in prison.
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