Anchorage Daily News

John Carlin was apparently beaten to death in prison, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

Click to enlarge

Mechele Linehan

Click to enlarge

John Carlin

Story tools

Comments (0)

E-mail a friend

Print

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Font size : A | A | A

Convicted of murder in the notorious stripper-mom case and awaiting the results of his appeal, Carlin died of blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy done Wednesday, troopers said.

Troopers also said they have identified several prisoners as suspects in the attack on Carlin, who died after "a disturbance" in Seward at the state's largest prison on Monday night. Troopers are releasing little information.

"In this case we have time on our side as all the people involved are already incarcerated," wrote trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters in an e-mail Wednesday night.

Investigators are looking into whether the prisoner or prisoners involved in an assault on Carlin a month ago had anything to do with his death, Peters said. Carlin wrote to a reporter in mid-October that he was beaten after a rerun of the CBS show "48 Hours" about the murder.

"... Some people here didn't like the way I looked, so I got a prison makeover of sorts," he wrote.

Troopers were called to the prison shortly after 11 p.m. Monday. Carlin, 51, was taken to the Seward hospital, where he was declared dead.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt said Wednesday he is letting the troopers conduct their investigation and that he plans "to be honest about whatever is found."

Carlin's death is the second recent homicide in an Alaska prison. The first was also at the Spring Creek Correctional Complex, in 2004.

Carlin was convicted last year in the 1996 murder of Kent Leppink, a 36-year-old commercial fisherman. Leppink was a guest in Carlin's in his South Anchorage home at the time of his death. According to trial testimony, both men wanted another houseguest, Mechele Linehan, a 23-year-old stripper, to be their girlfriend.

Prosecutors say Linehan and Carlin conspired to kill Leppink, believing incorrectly that she would inherit a $1 million life insurance payout.

Linehan was also convicted of the murder and is currently serving her 99-year sentence at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River. She has also appealed her conviction.

Carlin steadfastly maintained his innocence until his death.

Carlin's son, John Carlin IV, whose testimony about his father washing a gun after the murder was key evidence in the convictions, said in a written statement: "Grief, sorrow, guilt and rage flow through my body in an attempt to accept this injustice. I'm still in so much shock that I can't fully articulate all the hurt that I'm feeling over the loss of this good man."

ADVERTISEMENT