Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘A Double Life’ of Court TV’s ‘Interview With a Killer’ delves deep into the two horrific murders committed by Brian Steven Smith, who reportedly led a double life as a killer in Alaska. When the news of the killings broke out, the entire community was shocked to its core while the loved ones of the victims were left grieving. The episode also features insightful interviews with the families and officials connected to the crimes, providing the viewers with a detailed account of the investigations.
Brian Steven Smith Was a Married Man But Led a Double Life
On March 23, 1971, Brian Steven Smith was born into a South African family in the Queenstown area of South Africa. At some point in his life, he relocated to Alaska and became a naturalized US citizen in September 2019. At the time, he was a married man who was employed as a maintenance man at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott in midtown Anchorage, Alaska. According to reports, in the first week of September 2019, Brian rented a discounted room for a couple of days at the hotel where he worked. The investigators believed that on September 4, 2019, he tortured and killed Kathleen Jo Henry in the hotel room.
About a month or so later, a sex worker stole Brian’s phone from his truck only to come across disturbing images and videos of the gruesome things he had done to Kathleen. The sex worker then copied the footage of sexual assault and killing onto a memory card before submitting it to the authorities. The police identified the victim, Kathleen, by going through the first few images, which were time-stamped at about 1 am on September 4, 2019. Although his face was not visible in the photos and videos, his African accent was easily recognizable from a previous investigation involving him. Thus, the investigators obtained an arrest warrant for him.
Brian Steven Smith Revealed the Whereabouts of His Second Victim to the Police
On October 2, 2019, Kathleen’s remains were found along Alaska’s Seward Highway. Since the killer was not in town at the time, the Anchorage Police Department waited for him at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on October 8, 2019, when he was scheduled to return from an out-of-state trip. After locking him in handcuffs, the authorities took him into custody and held him behind bars at an Anchorage jail. What followed was an eight-hour-long videotaped police interrogation, during which Brian admitted that he targeted vulnerable women, whom he lured away by offering them food, alcohol, or shelter. One of the spots where he used to pick up women was the Carrs grocery store on Gambell Street.
During the interview, he not only admitted to killing Kathleen Jo Henry, but he also murdered Veronica Abouchuk, another Alaska native woman from a small village in western Alaska whose body was discovered earlier. He confessed that he picked Veronica up in Anchorage and took her to his home, which he shared with his wife, who was out of town. While the two were at his house, he smelled a strange odor, after which he asked her to shower. However, when she refused to oblige, he got into a fit of rage and shot her in the head with a pistol he owned. After the interview, he told the authorities about the location of the remains. Finally, on October 17, 2019, Brian was also charged with the murder of Veronica Abouchuk.
Brian Steven Smith is Incarcerated at an Alaskan Prison Facility
After more than four years, in late January 2024, Brian Steven Smith finally stood on trial for the murders of 30-year-old Kathleen Henry and 52-year-old Veronica Abouchuk. The trial went on for nearly three weeks, during which the prosecution presented multiple pieces of incriminating evidence against the defendant, including the numerous images and videos displaying his crimes against Kathleen. Meanwhile, the defense argued for a lighter sentence. After deliberating for less than a couple of hours, the jury returned with a guilty verdict on February 22 and convicted him of all the 14 counts against him, including two counts of murder in the first degree.
He was also found guilty of tampering with physical evidence, second-degree sexual assault, and misconduct involving a corpse. Throughout his trial, Brian showed no sign of emotion on his face, even when he was being convicted of the crimes. A few months later, on July 12, 2024, the killer received 99-year imprisonment sentences each for the two killings of Kathleen Henry and Veronica Abouchuk. He was also handed an additional 28 years in prison for the other charges against him, such as tampering with evidence and sexual assault.
At the sentencing, Veronica’s daughter, Kristy Grimaldi, addressed the court and expressed her relief. She stated, “It’s a relief knowing that the defendant will rot. I hope he is swarmed with guilt someday, knowing he stalled so many people’s joy. To me, he will always be an unintelligent sick human being who couldn’t comprehend the meaning of life.” As of today, he is currently serving his sentence at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska.
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