 Both Alaska Native women were from small villages in western Alaska and experienced homelessness when living in Anchorage. During the eight-hour videotaped police interrogation, Smith confessed to killing Abachuk after picking her up in Anchorage when his wife was out of town. He took her to his home and she refused when he asked her to shower because of an odor. Smith said he became upset, retrieved a pistol from the garage and shot her in the head, dumping her body north of Anchorage. He told police the location where authorities later found a skull with a bullet wound in it.