Crime & Courts

Victim's daughter takes stand in Kodiak double murder case

The daughter of Richard Belisle, one of two men killed at a U.S. Coast Guard installation on Kodiak Island on April 12, 2012, testified Wednesday during the trial of James Michael Wells, the man accused of murdering the men. The defense has attempted to poke holes in the government's case against Wells by implying there are other potential killers, including individuals associated with the then-16 year old girl.

Hannah Belisle, 18, was the government's last witness. The defense will begin presenting its witnesses Thursday morning. Defense attorney Peter Offenbecher moved for an acquittal after the prosecution rested, arguing the government failed to make its case. U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline quickly denied the motion to toss the case after the government reiterated much of what's been presented during trial.

Hannah Belisle said at the time of her father's murder she'd been going through a rough patch with her parents and her life choices. She said she was using drugs and staying out some nights. Head U.S. Attorney in Alaska Karen Loeffler briefly asked about the home problems and whether or not any of those friends ever threatened her life or her father's, and she said no.

But when the defense questioned the teen, who is a month away from graduating from high school, it brought up every alleged criminal association she held at that time, asking repeatedly if she knew whether those individuals used and sold drugs.

Wells was a Coast Guard civilian employee who stands accused of killing two coworkers on Kodiak, the second largest island in the United States and home to a major military base. The communications station at which Wells worked is geographically separate from the island's main base.

The murders occurred in the morning of April 12, 2012, when Wells allegedly shot 41-year-old James Hopkins and 51-year-old Richard Belisle at "the rigger shop," an antenna maintenance building. The two men were just starting their workday around 7 a.m. The government argues the defendant was distraught over grievances about his job performance, which included at least one mention of being replaced. Authorities never found a murder weapon, and prosecutors are arguing the case based on circumstantial evidence.

A troublesome time when tragedy struck

Hannah Belisle said she's been through a lot since her father's death. She went to drug treatment and is spending her pre-graduate days working two jobs, she said.

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Loeffler asked Belisle about her friends during those troublesome teenage years. None of them knew her father except maybe one boy who came to her house and helped chop wood, she said. The lead prosecutor also inquired as to whether she'd ever known or seen Jason Barnum, the heavily-tattooed suspected cop shooter who police arrested in Anchorage in September. Kodiak locals know Barnum as "Eyeball," Belisle testified, but beyond rumors that he'd sold drugs on the island she knew nothing about the man.

The defense delved much deeper into Belisle's admitted drug use and people she associated with. Name after name, Offenbecher asked the girl whether her past friends used or sold drugs. Belisle broke down and began to sob at one point.

"I don't know why you're making me out to be this horrible person," she said. She added that she'd been mean to her parents but was working on her attitude when her father was killed.

Wells' alibi 'baffled' investigators

As the government whittled down its list of witnesses earlier Wednesday, an argument arose between parties as prosecutors prepared to call an FBI agent who interrogated Wells.

The government planned to introduce audio snippets from two investigative interviews, but the defense objected to the admission of selected pieces of Wells' interrogation under court rules of "completeness." The defense argued it'd only be fair to provide the jury full transcripts rather than cherry-picked evidence that fits the prosecution's version of events.

But the judge ruled in the government's favor, stating the court rule did not apply to Wells. The alleged murderer decided to invoke his right to silence late in the interviews, according to court testimony.

In the recordings, Wells answers questions from FBI special agent Kirk Oberlander and a Coast guard investigator. They asked Wells why he hadn't yet arrived at the rigger shop on the morning of the alleged murders and his alibi about a flat tire.

Wells said he was headed to work, realized his truck had a flat, and then turned around at the airport to head home and fix the problem. Experts have testified a nail was intentionally put in the tire.

A camera at the Coast Guard's main gate captured Wells traveling from and going back to his house; the amount of time between the captured footage was 34 minutes. When Oberlander asked about the gap in time, Wells did not provide an explanation.

"We have a huge gap in time we're trying to account for," the FBI agent said.

Wells said he didn't have a reasonable explanation, and Oberland asked if he had a theory.

"A theory? What are you trying to imply?" Wells responded.

"We're baffled."

"Well, so am I," Wells said.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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