A 28-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder Monday in the slaying of his cousin's husband, who family members say was abusive.
A charging document filed in Anchorage District Court says Osaiasi Thimohengauta Saafi shot Joshua Kagel, 25, early Sunday morning outside the Airport Heights home where several family members lived.
Kagel had recently threatened to kill his wife and their 2-year-old son, the document says. He had been barred from his wife's family's home last week because he was verbally and physically abusive to her, family members told police.
Saafi, whose last job was as a security guard in Las Vegas in January, lived at the Airport Heights home with his parents.
Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m., Kagel and his wife, Elizabeth Kagel, went to the house to pick up their child. They had spent the previous night at a hotel while Elizabeth Kagel's mother and aunt looked after the boy.
According to the court document, they parked across the street at the Anchor Park United Methodist Church. When they got out of the car, the two began arguing.
Saafi came out of the house with a handgun and intervened. The charging document says Saafi put the gun in his pocket but pulled the gun out and struck Kagel with it when their fight escalated.
Kagel struck back and Saafi fired the gun several times, the charging document says. Elizabeth Kagel pulled at her cousin's sleeves and begged him to stop shooting, but he did not, according to the charge.
Neighbors told police they heard about five or six shots. Joshua Kagel was shot in the face, side and leg.
Neighbors who ran outside when they heard the gunfire said Elizabeth Kagel wailed next to her husband's body, shouting that her cousin "didn't have to shoot him," the document says.
Saafi then went into the house and told his father, "I just shot Josh," the charging document says.
Joshua Kagel was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Monday afternoon, more than a dozen family members and friends showed up for Saafi's arraignment at the Anchorage jail. Saafi glanced often at his family during the proceedings.
Later, family members declined to talk about the case.
Saafi was at the Anchorage jail on Monday night. His bail is set at $300,000.
If found guilty, Saafi could face up to 99 years in prison. He has no criminal history in Alaska.
Daily News reporter Megan Holland can be reached at mrholland@adn.com.
