Kirby Anthoney

I am going to do a little something different here. On my list of cases to research I had the name Nancy Newman. I had a notation that this was a crime committed in Alaska but like most cases I knew little going in. The difference in this case is that I found very little specifics on this case and I am curious if readers can either find more or know more.

Here is what I can tell you....

Kirby Anthoney was originally from Idaho, as was the Newman family. John Newman, the husband of Nancy, was Kirby's uncle. The Newman family, that included daughters, Melissa and Angie, had been in Alaska for a few years when Kirby went to stay with them briefly with his girlfriend in 1985. It was said that Kirby left Idaho after being the prime suspect in the rape and beating of a twelve year old girl. The case did not seem to go anywhere because the girl was left with brain damage and could not identify Kirby. But this was far from Kirby's first run in with the law, nor was it the first time that he had escaped any prosecution or jail time. In 1982 he confessed to an armed robbery in which an wheelchair bound, elderly person (man? Woman?) had been tied up and sprayed with mace. He later retracted his confession and for whatever reason the case was dismissed. Kirby had been arrested apparently several times over the years for things such as burglary, larceny and even disorderly conduct. My research simply stated that most of the cases were dismissed and that he never served any jail time for any of his crimes.

It was said that once in Anchorage Alaska, Kirby and his girlfriend stayed a few months with the Newman family and then the two left to find work in another area of the state. A few months later Kirby was back. The girlfriend had kicked him out and he was fired from his job. It seems that he stayed again with the Newman's for a short time. My research indicates however that something happened in the relationship between Kirby and the family and once again he moved out.

On March 13, 1987 John Newman was apparently away from his home on business of some sort. Prosecutors allege that Kirby Anthoney went to the Newman home that day and by time he left Nancy Newman and her two children, eight year old Melissa and three year old Angie, were dead. The following day a co-worker of Nancy's was concerned when she did not report to work. Exactly how or who discovered the bodies is unclear.

It would be determined that both Nancy and Melissa had been sexually assaulted as well as beaten. Reports say that Melissa was also stabbed but I found nothing about a certain cause of death for Nancy. Three year old Angie had her throat cut, reportedly almost to decapitation. Prosecutors would say that a handprint near Melissa's body matched Kirby and that pubic and facial hairs found throughout the home and near the bodies also matched to him. He was charged with three counts of first degree murder, two counts of first degree assault and one count of kidnapping for tying Melissa's hands.

It appears that there apparently was a trial and a conviction. Kirby would be sentenced to 357 years. It seems that he has appealed his case a few times but I could access very little information on this and it seems for the most part everything has been upheld. I even had difficulty accessing information through the Department of Corrections. After several tries I was finally able to simply determine that he is still in custody, which barring an appeal or his death sounds about right, with a “release date” of April 22, 2225.

When researching this case there were pages and pages of things to look at. The problem was that the majority of the information referred to a book called Murder in the Family by Burl Barer or an episode of the television show, Forensic Files. I did find another blog similar in nature to this one that touched on things however even if they had listed more specifics I would have wanted some confirmation of those facts just as I would expect anyone reading here would like.

In the end all I was able to determine it seems was that Kirby Anthoney was all but a career criminal without the convictions to show it. I am left to wonder how he seemingly got away with so much but I also wonder the specifics of this particular case.

I would love to hear more!