Crime & Justice

Death of woman in Dillingham ruled homicide, officials say

DILLINGHAM -- Dillingham police officials said Monday that the State Medical Examiner had ruled the death of Ella S. George, 55, a homicide.

George was found deceased by a family friend around 5 p.m. Saturday evening at her daughter's home on Cessna Drive, across from the Dillingham Bible Fellowship church.

Police say the family friend had been asked to check on George, who was staying at the house alone and had not been reached since around 9 p.m. the night before. The friend found George unconscious, and reported it to police.

After confirming George was deceased, Dillingham police taped off the scene Saturday evening and waited for a warrant to re-enter the home to begin investigating. Officers canvassed the neighborhood and worked the scene until around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and the state's crime lab arrived on a flight from Anchorage early Sunday, and were on the scene by mid-morning.

Rumors of the cause and circumstances of the death quickly swirled around town Saturday evening, in part due to an open page on the EMT channel relaying an unconfirmed, alleged cause of death. Dillingham Police Chief Dan Pasquariello initially batted the rumors away.

"We will wait on an autopsy and results from our investigation," he said Sunday morning, while admitting that the circumstances surrounding the death were "suspicious."

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On Monday, police released an update confirming George's death as a homicide. Dillingham police asked anyone with information concerning the death to contact them at 907-842-5354.

This story was first published by KDLG and is republished here with permission.

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