Crime & Courts

No cause of death or suspect in Eagle River homicide, police say

Five days after 32-year-old Andrew Conn was found dead in his Eagle River home, the apparent victim of a homicide, police had no new details to release Thursday as the investigation of his death continues.

Someone trying unsuccessfully to reach Conn by phone drove to his townhouse on Mountain Vista Drive and found his body about 5 p.m. Saturday, said police, who have not identified the person. Police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said Sunday that detectives are investigating the case as a homicide and are seeking tips from the public.

On Thursday, neither Castro and Detective Slawomir Markiewicz would say why police think Conn's death was suspicious or if a weapon was involved. An autopsy of Conn's body is finished but the medical examiner's report is not, Markiewicz said.

"We don't have anyone in custody and we don't have a suspect identified in this," he said. "It's one of these cases where we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet."

Because of that, Markiewicz said, the detectives cannot release further details as they continue to vet the information they already have. And they need to maintain a certain level of secrecy to verify or disprove any new tips they might get, he said.

The determination that the case is a homicide is based, in general, on evidence gathered at the scene and police officers' observations of the victim, Markiewicz said. It could be several days or even weeks before more information is released, he said.

Meantime, the detectives continue to ask for help. Castro said anyone with information on Conn's death should call the police department at 786-8900 or, to remain anonymous, deliver tips to Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or at www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

By CASEY GROVE

casey.grove@adn.com

Casey Grove

Casey Grove is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He left the ADN in 2014.

ADVERTISEMENT