Alaska News

Man charged with murder in Metlakatla woman's death

A 67-year-old woman from Metlakatla died from injuries suffered in a fight at her home there, and a 29-year-old man who also lived there has been charged with first-degree murder, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers were alerted around 7:30 a.m. Saturday to a suspicious death in the Southeast Alaska village. They are saying little about what happened. Troopers based in Ketchikan and Klawock took over the investigation at the request of local police. They obtained search warrants and determined that a physical altercation had taken place in Leona Meely's home on 8th Street, according to a trooper report.

Meely, 67, died from her injuries, troopers said. An autopsy will be done in Anchorage.

William Buxton, 29, was identified as a suspect and ultimately charged with murder, troopers said. He is being held at the Ketchikan Correctional Center.

Megan Peters, a trooper spokeswoman, said she could not provide information beyond two short dispatches posted on the trooper log, including anything on the relationship between Meely and Buxton.

Troopers are still in Metlakatla. Their investigation is continuing.

By LISA DEMER

Anchorage Daily News

Lisa Demer

Lisa Demer was a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Dispatch News. Among her many assignments, she spent three years based in Bethel as the newspaper's western Alaska correspondent. She left the ADN in 2018.

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