The Case of Kathleen Jo Henry

Kathleen Jo Henry, 30, was murdered by Brian Steven Smith in Anchorage in September 2019. Smith recorded portions of the killing and later disposed of Henry's body. The case remained undiscovered until video from Smith's phone was brought to Anchorage police in 2021, leading investigators to identify Henry and ultimately uncover Smith's confession to her murder.

Kathleen Jo Henry was a 30-year-old woman living in Anchorage, Alaska. In September 2019, she encountered Brian Steven Smith, a South African-born man who was visiting Anchorage. Smith and Henry were together during the period leading up to her death. The circumstances surrounding their initial meeting were reconstructed by investigators through Smith's phone records, photographs, video and his subsequent statements to police.

Smith recorded portions of Henry's killing on his cellphone. The footage showed Henry being subjected to a prolonged physical assault before she was killed. After her death, Smith disposed of her body and attempted to conceal evidence of the crime. The recordings remained on Smith's phone. Henry's body was not immediately identified, and the murder remained undiscovered for approximately two years.

The investigation began in September 2021, when a woman who had possession of Smith's cellphone brought videos from the device to the Anchorage Police Department. The footage showed an unidentified woman being violently assaulted and killed. Homicide detectives began working to identify both the victim and the person responsible. The investigation eventually established that the woman in the footage was Kathleen Jo Henry, who had been killed in Anchorage in 2019. Smith was identified as the man responsible for the killing. Detectives subsequently questioned Smith about the footage. During the interrogation, Smith gave investigators a detailed confession to Henry's murder. He also admitted that he had killed another woman approximately one year earlier. That victim was identified as Veronica Abouchuk, whose murder had previously remained unsolved. The investigation into Henry's murder therefore became the breakthrough that exposed Smith's involvement in Abouchuk's death as well. Investigators recovered additional evidence from Smith's electronic devices, including photographs and videos connected to both women.

Brian Steven Smith was charged with Henry's murder and ultimately prosecuted for her death. On February 22, 2024, an Anchorage jury found Smith guilty of first-degree murder in Henry's death, along with multiple other charges including second-degree sexual assault, tampering with physical evidence and misconduct involving a corpse. The jury also found that Smith had subjected Henry to substantial physical torture, an aggravating factor that made him subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 99 years for her murder. On July 12, 2024, Smith was sentenced to 226 years in prison for the murders of Henry and Veronica Abouchuk.

The murder was particularly significant to the investigation because video of Henry's killing ultimately provided the breakthrough that identified Smith and exposed his involvement in another murder.