Anchorage police are investigating the Midtown beating of a man last summer as a homicide, in a complicated case still unfolding months after the victim’s death.
In a Tuesday statement, police identified the victim as 51-year-old Walton Hamilton, saying he suffered upper-body injuries in the attack. No charges have currently been filed.
Det. Amanda LaPorte, who is investigating the case, said in a Friday interview that Hamilton was from Texas but became homeless after he arrived in Anchorage. He called police on the night of Aug. 1, telling them he had been assaulted near the Midtown Walmart on A Street between 7:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.
“When officers came to speak to him he had described having some sort of altercation with a group of unknown individuals,” LaPorte said. “He wasn't very forthcoming on who they were, said he was fine.”
Hamilton gave only a terse description of his assailants, according to LaPorte.
“A group of individuals, mainly males, maybe one female was involved,” she said.
Hamilton initially refused medical attention, LaPorte said, but officers convinced him to get checked out. Medics took him to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.
Three days later, on Aug. 4, police again spoke with Hamilton at a park in Midtown. LaPorte said officers found him injured and intoxicated, without any identification on him.
“They did want to transport him to a safe facility, just based on his level of intoxication and those injuries,” LaPorte said. “It was unclear if those injuries were new injuries from that night or if they had previously been reported.”
Medics again took Hamilton to a local hospital.
On Aug. 9, LaPorte said Hamilton’s mother called police from Texas to report he was in a medical coma, and asked if he had been assaulted. Hamilton’s brother visited him in the hospital, and LaPorte asked medical staff about interviewing him.
“They advised me that Walton was not in a state to be spoken to, so I said I would follow up the following week,” she said. “I came back in after my weekend, which was on Tuesday, and I spoke to Ms. Hamilton, who told me that he had actually passed away.”
After his Aug. 13 death, the state medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy on Hamilton’s body, informing police his death was deemed a homicide on Oct. 24. LaPorte said his exact cause of death and the full autopsy report were still pending Friday.
Police reviewed surveillance video from businesses in the area, LaPorte said, but none of the footage showed the assault.
“Patrol (officers) did try to locate the scene of where this took place, but it's unclear where actually it even happened,” she said.
LaPorte said the case was complicated by both the delays and the lack of information on the initial incident.
“Walton was very clear in his conversation with the police that he didn't want to pursue any (charges), he didn't even want a report taken,” she said. “He didn't want to provide any information that way.”
Police are asking anyone with information about Hamilton’s death to call LaPorte at 907-786-8518. Tips can also be anonymously submitted online through Anchorage Crime Stoppers.
