The grave of Susanna “Sue Sue” Norton’s at the cemetery just outside of town in Kotzebue in early October. KOTZEBUE — On a subzero Monday morning in March 2020, police found another woman dead at the ex-mayor’s property.
In a state where women are 2.5 times more likely than the national average to be killed by a man and Alaska Native women are especially at risk, elected leaders here have repeatedly pledged action. The Department of Justice declared a rural law enforcement emergency in Alaska following a 2019 report by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica on.
State troopers, who took over the investigation into Norton’s death in 2022, told her family they planned to travel to Kotzebue over the summer to investigate further. Norton’s family says that didn’t happen either. The intersection of Third Avenue and Mission Street in Kotzebue, photographed on Sept. 7. The two teal green houses, at middle, sit on property owned by Clement Richards Sr. Susanna “Mama Sue” Norton’s house is the brown house at the bottom right corner. Kotzebue City Hall and Police Department are seen above the intersection, to the left.
All three sons have been charged with assaulting women at the mayor’s property but dodged serious punishment. While the details in each case differ, seven of the domestic violence cases unfolded in familiar ways: “I know Mrs. Richards from when she used to work for the troopers,” Roetman said at Anthony’s bail hearing. “She has a lot of experience with these types of cases and knows what these are like.”that a judge “shall not allow family, social, political, or other relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct or judgment.” Roetman did not respond to questions about his remarks in court, his work relationship with Annette Richards or the cases he presided over involving her sons.
Kirk grew up in the village of Buckland, 75 miles outside of Kotzebue. She and Anthony sometimes lived in one of two teal green homes that Clement Sr. and Annette Richards own on a grassy lot, one block from the police department and City Hall. Officer Nate Lecours came to the property to investigate the beating.
Despite the light punishment, Magistrate Judge Aaron Michels warned Anthony he could have killed Kirk that day.