The Juneau Police Department is treating two deaths discovered in a West Juneau condo on Sunday afternoon as a double murder — with no suspects.
They’ve identified the shooting victims as 34-year-old Elizabeth K. Tonsmeire, and 36-year-old Robert H. Meireis, both of Juneau.
Meireis had a history with Alaska’s justice system, according to online court records. He was out on bail and due for trial in January in Juneau Superior Court, where he was facing felony charges for drug possession and tampering with evidence, three misdemeanors, plus probation violations stemming from past assault convictions.
Chief Bryce Johnson was on the scene Sunday afternoon before the processing of the condo’s interior had begun.
“Our assumption is always that something nefarious happened until we can prove otherwise,” Johnson said. “So we’ll start from there, see where the evidence leads us. But that’s where we start it every time. Is that, that it was something suspicious, and that way we don’t miss anything.”
Johnson said the department’s entire detective unit, several patrol officers and a couple lieutenants were working the call.
The Juneau Police Department got the 911 call at 12:21 p.m. Sunday from a man in the neighborhood who discovered the bodies, according to a press release. Ambulance personnel declared the two people dead.
The department is soliciting tips. It’s been less than a month since Juneau’s last murder.
Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
