Anchorage police say the people found dead in an East Anchorage fire earlier this month were a pregnant woman and a toddler — who had been shot by a man who then killed himself.
According to a Thursday statement from police, a joint police and fire investigation found that the May 12 fire at a home on the 2600 block of Easthaven Circle had been intentionally set by 46-year-old Esteban L. Pope.
“APD detectives have determined that (Pope) fatally shot a 32-year-old pregnant female (seven months gestation) and a 2-year-old female inside the home before turning the gun on himself,” police said in the statement.
Police described the deaths as a crime of domestic violence, and did not identify the victims or say how they were related.
Police spokeswoman Amanda Brimanis said in an email Friday morning that Pope and the victims had been living together, but she declined to answer additional questions about the shooting.
“We have no further details to release on the suicide/homicide portion of the investigation,” she wrote.
Anchorage Fire Department spokeswoman Lexi Trainer said by email Friday afternoon that two separate 911 callers in the area first reported the fire. Two bodies – Pope’s and the woman’s – were initially found in separate areas of the home’s second floor during the afternoon and evening of May 12. The child was found dead the following day during a more extensive search for her.
Trainer said firefighters “gathered witness information and encountered circumstances in the fire scene” early during suppression efforts that prompted them to alert both AFD investigators and police.
Firefighters’ subsequent investigation, Trainer said, determined that Pope had started the fire.
The victims’ family has been notified, according to police.
Correction: An earlier version of this story inaccurately said Pope’s body, not the child’s, was found on May 13.
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.
