Who Murdered the Benolkens?
Who brutally raped and murdered James and Anne Benolken in their Juneau apartment in 1982? Nearly four decades later, many questions remain unanswered.
On April 13th, 1982, a Juneau resident named Martha noticed broken glass in her neighbor’s apartment window. Martha worked on the Marine Highway ferry system, and after a stint on the ferry, she had just returned to her home at the Lower F & L apartment building on South Franklin Street. Martha also noted a terrible smell emanating from apartment C, so she called the building manager, Priscilla, and the two women cautiously approached the residence. When no one answered their repeated knocks, the manager unlocked the door, and the two women entered the apartment to face a horrific scene. Both James (age 63) and Anne (age 61) Benolken had been bound, beaten, and stabbed to death. James was partially undressed, and the naked body of Anne lay face up on a mattress on the floor. The state of the bodies suggested that one or more perpetrators had sexually assaulted Anne and James. The pathologist would soon determine that both victims had sustained numerous stab wounds and had died at least nine days before Martha and Priscilla found them.
When police arrived at the Benolkens’ apartment, the stench of the decaying bodies engulfed them, and detectives traded off working the scene because no one could stand to spend much time…
