A 66-year-old man in Circle, Alaska, has been charged with first-degree murder after another man was fatally shot at his home during an evening when the two had been drinking, according to Alaska State Troopers and court documents.
Troopers received a report of a homicide in Circle at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 28. Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and the Fairbanks Rural Unit responded to the remote community to investigate the death.
Authorities identified the suspect as Walter V. John. The victim was 55-year-old Raymond Nathaniel, who died at the scene after being shot in the abdomen with a shotgun, according to the charging documents.
Investigators say the two men had been drinking at John’s residence before the shooting.
Suspect told investigators he was afraid
According to the affidavit filed in the case, John told investigators that he woke up and found Nathaniel in his kitchen. John said he obtained a shotgun that he had borrowed from his brother and pointed it at Nathaniel after telling him to leave the residence.
John told investigators that he was frightened. He reportedly described Nathaniel as someone who could become aggressive when intoxicated, but investigators said he did not provide a specific reason for believing he was in immediate danger at the time of the shooting.
Another man who was at the residence gave investigators a different account of what happened.
The man, identified in court documents as John’s brother, said he arrived while John and Nathaniel were already drinking. He said the two welcomed him into the home and that the shooting happened without warning about 15 minutes after his arrival.
The witness also told investigators that Nathaniel had not been acting aggressively before the gun was fired.
Investigators said physical evidence at the scene appeared consistent with the witness’s account. Among the evidence was a cigarette that remained undamaged between Nathaniel’s fingers after the shooting.
Nathaniel died at the scene
Nathaniel suffered a shotgun wound to the abdomen and died at the residence, according to authorities.
John was arrested and booked into the Fairbanks Correctional Center on a first-degree murder charge. Troopers said the victim’s next of kin had been notified.
The charge is an allegation, and the case will proceed through the court system.
Investigation continues
The shooting occurred in Circle, a small community along the Yukon River in Alaska’s interior. The town is located well away from Alaska’s larger population centers and has a population of roughly 50 people.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain part of the investigation and court proceedings. The available charging documents contain differing accounts of what happened immediately before the gun was fired.
As the case moves forward, additional court proceedings could provide more information about the evidence and the circumstances surrounding Nathaniel’s death.
