Anchorage Daily News

The man being sought for questioning in the slaying of a woman found dead in her home just off West International Airport Road was taken into custody Thursday night while using the restroom at the Flight Deck Bar and Lounge, just a block from the crime scene, according to police.

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Kenneth Arnold Wahl, who is on parole for the brutal 1983 killing of a school counselor, was taken to police headquarters for questioning and was held on a felony parole violation, police said. Wahl had not been charged in connection with the death of Elisa Orcutt, 47, though police have named him a "person of interest." Orcutt was found dead in her home in the 5100 block of Cambridge Way on Tuesday.

Police from the vice unit and Community Action Policing team descended on the bar at 832 W. International Airport Road just before 8:30 p.m. and found Wahl in the men's room, police spokeswoman Anita Shell said.

"Patrons at the bar recognized him," Shell said. "He was taken into custody without incident."

Police say Wahl, 45, was doing yard work for Orcutt on Friday, the last day she was seen alive.

Wahl had been arrested six times, and released six times, since 2005 for parole violations stemming from the 1983 murder and was currently wanted on a seventh charge.

Investigators say they have learned of no connection between Wahl and Elisa Orcutt, 47, beyond his doing work at her home.

Orcutt's body was found in her home in the 5100 block of Cambridge Way just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, less than two hours after she missed a court appearance for a divorce that was finalized in her absence.

Since naming Wahl as a man who might have some information, detectives had received reports of possible sightings, homicide Detective Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz said Thursday afternoon.

"We accounted for all the other neighbors as far as talking to them," Markiewicz said. "He had a place pretty close to the victim's place. Actually, from where he was staying he could see the victim's house." Neighbors say Wahl moved into a small, white pickup camper sitting on pallets in a yard catty-cornered to the Orcutt residence earlier this spring. He'd been doing odd jobs and yard work for the people whose property he was on and other neighbors and landed some work at the Orcutt home last Friday, according to police.

Elisa Orcutt was supposed to meet with her lawyer, Jody Brion, on Saturday in preparation for the divorce trial this week, but didn't show, according to a memorandum Brion filed in court. Brion called her repeatedly over the weekend but didn't reach her.

"Counsel believes that she is very stressed out with the prospect of the trial," Brion wrote in court papers.

About 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, everyone but Orcutt showed up at the courthouse for a hearing. The divorce was granted despite her absence. According to court documents, both Orcutt and her husband suffered from physical and mental impairments. They had no children.

Douglas Orcutt, 56, spent a career working for Alaska Airlines but left his work after being diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, court records say. He moved to Washington in September and filed for divorce in November, citing "irremediable differences" caused by "an incompatibility of temperament existing between the parties." Records say he was in town for the hearing this week.

Court records indicate Elisa Orcutt used to work at a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse but was injured on the job and had received Social Security income. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and also suffered from depression and physical problems, according to court records.

"Elisa has been through a lot of stuff," said Pete Johnson, husband of her sister. "She didn't deserve this." If they know a motive for the slaying, police won't say what it is. They have been equally mum on what exactly happened inside the home, saying only they and the killer have that information.

"There was some trauma that caused her death," Markiewicz said. "The nature of the injuries is such that we concluded it must be the result of a homicide."

Wahl was convicted of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of Edward "Larry" Delany, a 40-year-old junior high school counselor. Authorities said Wahl stabbed him with a knife about 40 times in his apartment the day after they hooked up for a sexual encounter in 1983. He was sentenced in 1985 to serve 45 years.

According to Parole Board records, Wahl first appeared before the board in 2003, but was denied parole. He went back before the board in April 2005, when board members changed their minds. He was released two months later.

Conditions of Wahl's parole were standard, including requirements that he: maintain employment, training or treatment; notify his parole officer of a change in residence; possess no firearms; stay away from drugs and alcohol; not leave Anchorage beyond a 50-mile radius without informing his parole officer; not contact the victim's family.

But between his release and April of this year, Wahl was out of jail only for brief periods -- three months, then two days, then three weeks, and then two months -- before being jailed again for parole or probation violations.

He went back before the Parole Board after each one, and each time the board decided to let him go -- in April 2005, December 2005, September 2006 and January 2009. Ronald Taylor, executive director of the Alaska Board of Parole, said he couldn't discuss why the board decided to let Wahl out.

But in April, Wahl vanished from his halfway house. His probation officer searched for him for a day before handing over the search to Alaska State Troopers. A felony warrant for his arrest was issued.

Some fugitives are actively sought, but in many cases they are arrested after incidental contacts, like traffic stops, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. Various factors affect who is actively sought, including the severity of the crime and whether there is information on the person's location, she said.

Troopers have about 9,300 active arrest warrants, she said. Asked how Wahl's warrant would be prioritized, Peters said, "It goes back to what resources you have available, if you know where somebody is."

Kennith Wahl's time behind bars

Jan. 19, 1983: Arrested for murder.

Nov. 20, 1985: Sentenced to 45 years.

June 9, 2005: Released from prison to a halfway house, the Glennwood Center in downtown Anchorage

Sept. 6, 2005: Back in jail for a parole/probation violation.

March 15, 2006: Released.

May 17, 2006: Back in jail for a parole/probation violation.

June 16, 2008: Released.

July 6, 2008: Back in jail for a parole/probation violation.

July 22, 2008: Released.

Sept. 23, 2008: Back in jail for a parole/probation violation.

Dec. 3, 2008: Released.

Jan. 12, 2009: Begins mandatory six months at a halfway house.

April 9, 2009: Doesn't show up to halfway house. Felony arrest warrant later issued.Kenneth Wahl's time behind bars

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