Anchorage police say a man fatally stabbed his roommate Friday afternoon at the condo they shared. The roommate, Jesse Belarde, attempted to escape by jumping out a third-story window, according to investigators.
Jessy Bryan Amos, 32, is now charged with first-degree and second-degree murder in Belarde’s death.
According to a charging document, this is what police investigators say happened:
Police were called around 1 p.m. Friday to the 500 block of Copperbush Court in Anchorage’s Taku/Campbell area. Arriving officers found Belarde dead on the driveway outside a four-plex, with multiple wounds to his neck and chest. A window to the unit he and Belarde shared was open.
“It appeared that someone fell from the open third-floor window leaving a snow impression on the ground,” said the charging document. “There was a trail of blood from the snow impression, which is on the side of the house, that (led) to Belarde’s body in the driveway.”
Amos was in the condo, with cuts on his hands. A search of the home discovered fresh blood in almost every room, as well as the door to Belarde’s bedroom kicked in and “almost split in half.”
Officers rode with Amos in an ambulance to Providence Alaska Medical Center, where he was treated for his injuries. During the trip, police say Amos initially confessed to killing Belarde by stabbing him in the neck. Under questioning from a paramedic, he also admitted to using meth that day.
“He stated that he didn’t do very much, but not as much as ‘he was,’” said the charging document. “He stated he was getting the meth from Belarde and that Belarde was his worst enemy.”
Police spoke with Amos’ parents, who said he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017. They bought the condo for Amos to live in, but he began sporadically taking his medications and had begun to decline in July. After Amos had a three-day stay at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in the fall, his mother was formally named as his guardian.
The mother told police she had noticed Belarde’s belongings in the condo in late November, and Amos told her he had allowed Belarde to live there. The situation had worsened by Thursday, when she brought Amos a pack of cigarettes he asked for.
“Amos stated that Belarde was trying to steal his identity and trying to hurt him and steal his destiny,” said the charging document. “That same day, (the mother) told Belarde that things looked to be getting unsafe around there and that she did not think it was a safe situation.”
The mother told police she tried to get an order so the court system could intervene.The next day, Amos called her and said that he’d killed Belarde, because “Belarde tried to attack him,” said the charging document.
In a Saturday interview at Anchorage police headquarters, investigators say Amos told police that he sharpened his knife and told Belarde that he was going to kill him before kicking down his bedroom door and attacking him.
“Belarde tried to get away and jumped out the window,” said the charging document. “Amos followed him and jumped out the window. Amos then stabbed Belarde multiple times while they were outside.”
Under further questioning, Amos told police Belarde never had any weapons. He also denied suffering any injuries beyond cutting his own hands during the attack.
Amos was being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on Tuesday. His bail was set at $500,000 on Saturday, with a third-party custodian required for his release.
This is Anchorage’s 27th reported homicide of 2022.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
