Crime & Courts

Charges: Murder in Fairbanks result of false rape accusation

Abraham Stine, 39, punched a man to death in Room 116 of Fairbanks' Extended Stay Hotel on Wednesday believing that the man had just raped his girlfriend, witnesses told Alaska State Troopers.

The girlfriend, 31-year-old Dominique Vasquez, admitted to having consensual sex with Wesley Lord, 37, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday at the Fairbanks Courthouse. But Vasquez convinced two other men present before and at the time of the alleged murder to claim she was raped, the complaint says.

"Later, Vasquez admitted she lied about being raped by Lord and she had consensual sex with him," the complaint says. "Vasquez knew Stine has a history of assaulting people, from her personal experience."

Stine and Vasquez, both from Barrow, face one count each of second-degree murder. Vasquez told investigating troopers that her boyfriend punched Lord while she placed her hand over Lord's mouth to silence him.

The couple was set to make an initial court appearance Thursday in Fairbanks. They were arrested after a trooper investigation early Wednesday morning.

An assistant district attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.

Rochelle Leavitt, special assistant to the mayor of Barrow, said Stine managed the local alcohol distribution center. He resigned in April, she said.

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Shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday, Stine called troopers and reported that Vasquez had been sexually assaulted by his cousin, Lord. He said Lord was passed out in a hotel room; Vasquez had left the hotel with her court-appointed third-party custodian.

Four troopers responded and contacted Stine, who led them to Room 116. Lord was found lying face down on the floor, and the troopers quickly called emergency medical personnel, who determined he was dead, according to the complaint.

"The victim appeared to have sustained blunt-force trauma as there was blood on the floor and obvious signs of injury to his head," the complaint says. An Alaska Bureau of Investigations sergeant later noted contusions on the right side of Lord's face. It appeared as if someone tried to clean blood off the floor.

Troopers spotted alcohol bottles and soda cans in the room.

Three men were transported by troopers for interviews: Stine, Jeffery Bodfish and Tyrone Akpik.

Stine went to the hotel and peeked through a window, the complaint says. He believed Vasquez was cheating on him, according to the complaint. Inside the room were Lord, Vasquez, Bodfish and Akpik. Stine said he'd been with the group earlier but "they ditched" him, the complaint says.

Akpik opened the window and told Stine that Lord raped Vasquez, according to Stine's version of events. Stine admitted to crawling through the window, throwing Lord on the floor and punching him "several times," according to the complaint.

"Lord didn't put up much of a fight because he was such a small guy," Akpik told troopers, adding that Stine continued to assault Lord for five to 10 minutes after Lord stopped fighting back.

The two men both told troopers Vasquez told them to tell Stine she'd been raped. Vasquez told Akpik she did not want to get in trouble for cheating, according to the complaint.

The court document does not indicate when troopers apprehended Vasquez. It states Stine has been charged with second-degree murder for "physically beating Wesley Lord to death" and Vasquez was charged with the same for aiding and abetting the murder.

Correction: An earlier version of this article contained an inaccurate reference to emergency medical services personnel.

Jerzy Shedlock

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

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