This Is How We Rise

On October 18, 2019, Detectives Brendan Lee and David Cordie questioned Ian Calhoun about his association with Brian Steven Smith. The interrogation was conducted in two parts: At Calhoun’s home and later at the Anchorage Police Department station.

Smith was arrested on October 7, 2019, for killing Kathleen Jo Henry. While being questioned, he ended up telling the police about another murder he committed a year before. That woman was Veronica Abouchuk.

The following are key points from Calhouns interrogation, which are further corroborated by video evidence and official interrogation reports.

Specific quotes pulled from the interrogation have time stamps.

I have included the video of the interrogation, the full written report from Calhoun’s interrogation, as well as two audio files; one is of the initial contact at Calhoun’s home and the second one is the audio file of the interrogation at the Anchorage Police Department station.

I remember when he was talkin’ about the – the ticket – the trash ticket or whatever he was like, you’ll see it on the news. And then like I remember, uh, I was like, okay, was it like – you know what I mean? I – I have no idea what he’s referring to. You know, I mean I’m not gonna be fuckin’ pry about it. It’s whatever. I’m drunk. I don’t really give a shit. You know? and then like I – I saw the thing where it said body recovered and I like – I remember like sending it to ‘im and bein’ like, dude.(22:28)

Calhoun’s Account of Seeing a Body

During the interrogation, Calhoun told detectives about meeting up with SMITH in early September at Forsythe Park. At first he completely leaves out what SMITH had wanted to show him. (13:27)

He can remember specifics from 2015 when SMITH and him had stopped off at SMITH’s house or went shooting, but didn’t remember conversations with SMITH the month before.

Calhoun says that Smith arrived in his black Ford Ranger with a camper shell and showed Calhoun what appeared to be a body covered by a sheet or tarp in the back of the truck. Calhoun said he dismissed it as a “sex doll,” but then admitted to detectives that he had a “gut feeling” it wasn’t. Afterward him and SMITH went out drinking and then Smith came over to his house. (27:36 and 34:10)

Deleted Text Messages and Digital Evidence

Detectives pressed Calhoun about messages with SMITH, and Calhoun told them he had deleted text messages and an entire messaging app after news of Smith’s arrest broke. They told him they were getting a search warrant to go through his phone. Calhoun admitted to deleting messages, where many of his conversations with Smith had taken place, stating he was “freaked out” and wanted to distance himself.

Calhoun said Smith had previously sent him images and videos via the app involving prostitutes.(12:03)

After that meetup at Forsythe Park where SMITH had shown Calhoun a woman in the back of his truck and then they went out drinking, SMITH told Calhoun about no longer having to worry about a “bitch,” implying he had killed a sex worker. (18:18)

Calhoun tells detectives he had sent some texts after finding out a woman was found, and said he mentally shut down. (22:51)

Reading the messages below, Calhoun seemed to know exactly what SMITH was up to. When Detective Lee reads SMITH’s messages off, Calhoun answers “He threw away a bag of trash”. His story unravels at this point. (23:47)

But the messages sent to SMITH by Calhoun after Kathleen Jo Henry’s body was found a few weeks later were damming.

Messages Calhoun sent to SMITH read “But that means I’ll be in the clear” and “So can I now say that I’m trained?“. These messages were never addressed by the detectives during the investigation because they didn’t have them yet. It is unclear if there was additional time or effort put into questioning Calhoun besides what we have here.

Calhoun knew what he saw. He knew it was a body. During questioning when detectives asked about what he saw in the back of SMITH truck, Calhoun answered what he was thinking at the time while looking at a body in the back of SMITH’S truck at a remote park, “It’s whatever. I’m drunk. I don’t really give a shit.”

Detective Cordie is quick to tell Calhoun in one breath that they know the answers to the questions they are asking and he is “a good kid, we know you’re a good kid.” (20:23)

“I have something to show you.” (23:52)

To date Calhoun was not charged with any crime, despite having knowledge of at least one murder. This revelation has sparked outrage within the community, prompting calls for legislative change.

A stark reminder of this systemic disregard days before Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day(May 5, 2024), Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore issued a tone-deaf commentary in the Alaska Beacon explaining why a specific individual who had knowledge of Kathleen’s murder was not held accountable.

He began his commentary with, “In recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, May 5, I want to address our efforts at the Alaska Department of Law to prosecute and bring to justice those who commit crimes against Alaska Native people.“

The Alaska Department of Law’s decision not to charge Calhoun for his inaction after seeing Kathleen Jo Henry’s body is a glaring example of how the justice system protects certain individuals while disregarding the lives of others, specifically Indigenous women, sex workers, people of color, those struggling with addiction, and the unhoused. The timing of Skidmore’s response, on a day meant to honor and bring awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people, was highly inappropriate.

Calhoun could have been charged under AS 11.56.767 Failure to Report a Violent Crime Committed Against an Adult, yet that didn’t happen. 

And would it had mattered? Failure to Report a Violent Crime Committed Against an Adult is only a violation. A mere $500 fine.

Calhouns actions may not have met the legal threshold for AS 11.56.770 Hindering Prosecution according to John Skidmore, the Alaska deputy attorney general for the Criminal Division. but the fact remains: he saw Kathleen’s lifeless body, knew something horrific had occurred, deleted messages that could have been crucial evidence, and dismissed it all with a drunken shrug. “It’s whatever. I’m drunk. I don’t really give a shit.”

I will say it. It is very clear, but it needs to be said.

Calhoun was not charged because Kathleen Jo Henry was Indigenous.

“Let this be a life lesson, young man.” Sgt. Cordie to Ian Calhoun. (53:06) 

Time and again, we see that when victims are Indigenous women, sex workers, or members of other marginalized communities, the system refuses to act. 

Let’s reverse the roles, if Calhoun had been a sex worker, a person of color, someone with a history of addiction, or experiencing homelessness, law enforcement would have found a way to criminalize him. But because he was a white man with social standing, they looked the other way. The lack of consequences for his inaction sends a clear message: the deaths of Indigenous women and other vulnerable people are not a priority, and those who enable violence against them will not be held accountable. 

This is not justice. 

This is systemic neglect, and it is time to demand better.

That’s why I have been actively working to change the Failure to Report a Violent Crime Committed Against an Adult law. I have reached out to lawmakers, called and visited Juneau, and followed up. 

I am persistent. 

As a result, Representative Burke (State House District 40, representing the North Slope Borough and Northwest Arctic Borough) and Senator Claman (Anchorage, Senate District H) are taking steps to change the law. 

Senator Claman has stated he will introduce a bill to strengthen Failure to Report a Violent Crime, changing it from a mere violation to a Class B misdemeanor. I see this as a step toward real consequences for those who choose silence when faced with horrific crimes. 

When I receive the bill number from him, I will update this post and ask for support to ensure this reform becomes law. I am cognizant of harmful unintended consequences. 

If there is to be any real change, the law must be strengthened to ensure that those who fail to report violent crimes; kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, are held accountable. Law enforcement must apply these laws equitably, rather than reserving punishment for those already disadvantaged by the system. 

We must continue to demand justice, not just for Kathleen Jo Henry, but for all those whose lives have been deemed unworthy of protection.

The community’s outrage is justified. Kathleen Jo Henry deserved better. 

And so does every other victim whose death or disappearance has been met with silence instead of justice.

If the above video link is unable to play, the video can be viewed via download below.

The following audio file details an initial conversation with Detectives Lee and Cordie with Calhoun at his home.

The following audio file is the full interrogation with Detectives Lee and Cordie with Calhoun at the Anchorage Police Department station.