'He was trying to help': Guest dies in stabbing at Anchorage hotel
Anchorage police said officers found 25-year-old Michael Kaskey in the lobby with what court documents described as a stab wound in his abdomen. He was pronounced dead despite lifesaving efforts from medics, they said. The hotel's owner said Kaskey was a guest helping control access.
Matthew Alexie, 27, was arrested Monday on charges of second-degree murder and evidence tampering, police said.
The stabbing occurred after Alexie, along with three others, approached the hotel on Saturday night, according to a sworn statement filed by Officer Troy Clark with the criminal complaint.
Kaskey was collecting a $20 fee at the front door, it said.
Kaskey confronted a woman in Alexie's group after she came through the door and didn't pay, the statement said. Alexie could be seen on surveillance video holding a large knife as the group approached the hotel, it said.
A witness said Alexie tried to get between the woman and Kaskey, who pushed Alexie, Clark wrote. The witness said they saw Alexie "push" Kaskey back, the statement said, at which point Kaskey fell and rolled down the stairs.
Alexie was pushed out of the hotel, according to the complaint. Surveillance video didn't show the pushing or stabbing but did show Alexie afterward, "posturing, while holding the knife," Clark wrote.
The hotel's owner said the fee was established to limit the number of non-guests coming inside to use the bathroom or loiter inside. He said there may be 20 or 30 people in the parking lot some evenings.
Police distributed photos of Alexie and the Chevrolet Suburban he left in to officers, the statement said. The police department did not publicly provide a detailed account of the incident until Monday evening.
Police spokesman Chris Barraza on Tuesday said the timing of the account reflected when additional information was available and when the update was approved by the homicide unit.
Officers tracked the Suburban to a Government Hill address, the statement said. That's where Alexie was arrested on Monday, Barraza said.
Alexie was jailed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex as of Tuesday. His first court appearance was Monday afternoon.
The Chelsea Inn and surrounding area have been the scene of numerous murder or attempted murder investigations in recent years including fatal shootings on Memorial Day in 2023 and in October 2020.
The building managers and owners are cooperating with the police investigation, Barraza said.
Owner Soo Seo said Tuesday that Alexie was known to staff and they may have been trying to keep the group out on Saturday night when the encounter occurred.
Seo said he has struggled with managing the numbers of people who congregate in his parking lot, in numbers he described as 20 or 30 at times. He said he would like to see additional police patrols in the area.
Kaskey was a guest who volunteered to help the front desk staff the night he was stabbed.
"He was trying to help," Seo said.
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Axios
3 days ago
- Axios
Philly to consider reviving an old police district before the World Cup
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Philadelphia is weighing whether to bring back a disbanded police district that once patrolled Fairmount Park. Why it matters: A Memorial Day mass shooting has renewed concerns about public safety in the city's sprawling park, which will serve as the site of next year's FIFA Fan Fest. Thousands of spectators are expected to swarm Lemon Hill for watch parties and entertainment during the tournament's five weeks. Driving the news: City Council is holding a hearing in September to discuss reviving Philadelphia's 92nd Police District. It's the first step in what could become a contentious debate about whether there's enough funding and manpower for an additional outpost amid a police staffing shortage. Zoom in: Councilperson Curtis Jones Jr., who introduced the proposal, tells Axios that residents have recently complained about an increase in crime and quality of life issues in the park, ranging from feral dogs to reports of joggers being attacked on trails. He hopes a specialized unit of 50 officers — some on bikes, others on horseback — can be in place in time for next year's busy slate of events. The unit would be able to easily reach some of the park's most remote stretches, including areas that Jones says have become hotspots for illegal dumping and intimate encounters. Flashback: The park once had its own police force, the Fairmount Park Guards, which was formed in 1868 and kept watch over visitors and the area's historic mansions. About a century later, it merged with Philly police, forming the 92nd Police District. The unit was disbanded in 2008 because of budget cuts. Since then, several surrounding police districts have divvied up responsibility for responding to calls in the area, Jones says. By the numbers: It could cost more than $3 million a year to staff the park — a figure based on starting salaries of graduating police recruits. Plus, overhead for supervising brass. What they're saying: Critics will say, 'This is a lot for the park. Shall we be guarding the squirrels, the trees, the bees?'" Jones tells Axios. "No, we're guarding the people." Plus, some costs could be offset by transferring police officers currently working in less-busy districts, Jones says. Meg Kane, host city executive, tells Axios security planning is underway for next year's World Cup, but having "any additional security measures" would be a "positive development."
CNN
6 days ago
- CNN
UC Berkeley professor killed in Athens: Suspect claims he acted for victim's ex-wife, leaked police confession reveals
On the morning of July 4, an American marketing professor was walking towards his ex-wife's house in Athens to pick up their two young children. It should have been an unremarkable, if strained visit – the couple had apparently been disputing the terms of custody arrangements. But Przemyslaw Jeziorski never made it to the front door. In broad daylight, in this typically quiet, suburban neighborhood of Greece's capital, he was shot multiple times at close range, according to police. Jeziorski died where he fell, police said, his body riddled with gunshot wounds seen in grim photographs taken in the immediate aftermath. As eyewitnesses rushed to his aid, the masked gunman fled. The alleged perpetrator, arrested 12 days later for premeditated murder: His ex-wife's new partner. The motive, he told police – to prevent Jeziorski from taking away her children. 'I did it all for (her) and our children so that we could have a normal life without problems,' he said, according to a transcript of a statement he made to police in the aftermath of his arrest. One of the most remarkable aspects of the case is that the statements made to police by the alleged perpetrators have been widely leaked to Greek media, including a CNN affiliate, CNN Greece. The statements, verified as authentic by a senior police source speaking to CNN, offer an insight into how the alleged murder plot was put together, why it was undertaken, and provide clues as to who may have known what, and when. But there are key questions unresolved, too – not least the role, if any, of Jeziorski's ex-wife. According to Greek police, she is facing moral accomplice charges, which she denies, according to her lawyer, who spoke to CNN. Like all the suspects in this case, her identity is known to CNN but cannot be published due to Greek legal restrictions. The alleged perpetrator's confession, and other conflicting accounts from three alleged accomplices that were also leaked to the press, sets up what is likely to be a lengthy and high-profile trial. Meanwhile, the killing and the aftermath have shocked the friends and family of the victim, who say Jeziorski was a kind and introverted academic who loved his children. Jeziorski, 43, who went by the nickname Przemek or 'PJ,' was an economist and tenured professor of marketing at the University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He was born in Poland and moved to the United States in 2004 to study economics and math at the University of Arizona, and he went on to obtain his PhD from Stanford. 'He was one of the sharpest people I've ever met,' said Robert Kowalski, the victim's friend from Stanford. 'He was a great guy, a genius in many regards.' UC Berkeley said in a statement that Jeziorski 'had a passion for teaching' and during his 13 years at the California university, he taught data analytics skills to more than 1,500 graduate and PhD students. His research work centered on emerging markets, which took him around the world for field research, and Berkeley described him as 'a leading expert in quantitative marketing, industrial organization, and the economics of digital markets.' The dean of UC Berkeley's business school, Jenny Chatman, said she was 'heartbroken' by the death of Jeziorski, who she described as a 'beloved member of our marketing faculty.' Jeziorski met his ex-wife – a Greek national – in San Francisco in 2013, and they got married the following year, according to Kowalski. The couple's twins were born shortly after. In 2015, the couple co-founded a start-up called Keybee, a short-term rental property management platform. It's unclear what led to their relationship falling apart, but Kowalski told CNN the couple broke up around 2020 after moving to Greece during the Covid pandemic. Their children are dual US and Polish citizens, according to a statement from the victim's brother. The children had applied for Greek citizenship and were awaiting a decision on that, according to the ex-wife's lawyer. Jeziorski filed for divorce in June 2021, according to California court records. In May, he filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against his ex-wife. The request was denied by the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, pending a hearing. It appears to be one element in a years-long custody battle for the children, who ultimately lived with their mother in Greece, with a provision that their father, Jeziorski, could take the children for one month every summer. According to Kowalski, Jeziorski asked during the custody battle that his children attend an American school in Greece, so that they could be able to attend high school or college in the US one day. But his ex-wife was afraid of losing the kids much sooner, according to the statement to police from the principal suspect, her boyfriend. 'We were afraid that he (Jeziorski) would end up taking the kids completely. That would completely finish off (my girlfriend), who was overly fond of them. This summer Przemek wanted to take the children and take them to America. But (my girlfriend) did not agree and so she went back to court with Przemek,' the suspect said, according to the testimony transcript. On July 3, a custody judgement ruled that Jeziorski was indeed allowed to take the children for a month. 'A month and a half ago I made the decision to end this torment we were experiencing once and for all,' the suspect told police, adding that it was a 'good opportunity' given that Jeziorski was in Athens to attend the custody hearing. The statement details how the suspect says he bought a pistol more than a month ago and asked a friend, who is from Bulgaria, to help him 'find Przemek and scare him so that he wouldn't take our children away from us.' He said it all began in Nafplio, a coastal city about two hours from Athens, 'so that it would appear that I was there' and his cell phone would 'leave traces.' The suspect said that that he, his friend and two others – a man and a teenager from Albania – he paid drove to Athens and waited on the same street as the ex-wife's house, where the suspect said he knew Jeziorski was coming that afternoon to pick up the kids. 'I approached him and shot him a few times, but I don't remember how many times,' he said. According to the statement, the men had rented a gray Porsche Cayenne as a getaway car, but the murder suspect told police that his accomplices left him at the scene after they saw him shoot the victim. Police said Jeziorski died at the scene, where seven bullet casings were found after a masked gunman shot him in the neck and chest. The three unnamed men who allegedly helped, two Albanian nationals and a Bulgarian national, are facing accomplice charges, police announced Thursday. The suspected accomplices – one of whom is a minor – have confessed to their peripheral involvement in the killing, a Greek police source told CNN on Thursday. CNN has been unable to reach attorneys for those men. 'My client has confessed his actions but as you can see from the simplicity of some of the things that took place this was not an organized plan. His accomplices only knew about a plan to scare him (the victim) so he would stay away from the children,' the main suspect's lawyer, Ermis Papoutsis, told CNN. '(The ex-wife), his partner, knew nothing about any of this.' 'My client had come to me in the past to seek advice. He had said his partner's ex-husband had serious alcoholism issues and that he and the mother were worried about allowing access to the kids. He wanted to see if there was something he could legally do about limiting access,' the lawyer added. 'Now he is completely devastated after what happened. We will ask for a psychiatric examination because he has had some issues in the past.' Jeziorski's friends have denied the allegations that he abused alcohol. On Friday, CNN Greece obtained the police testimony of the alleged accomplice from Bulgaria, which contradicts the account of the alleged gunman. In this account, the alleged accomplice claims the victim's ex-wife had 'organized the whole thing.' He described his friend, the perpetrator, obtaining a gun and then asking 'me to find some people to take him to Athens the next day to scare and threaten the Pole so that he would 'back down' on custody of the children.' 'In fact, from what he told me, (the ex-wife) made him do it because she didn't want to give the children to the Pole,' the accomplice said in the testimony,' adding that the perpetrator offered him thousands of euros after he 'did something we hadn't agreed on.' As for the ex-wife – beyond the statement of her lawyer, denying all knowledge, there is no further information about her testimony. For reasons that unclear, nothing from her statements to police have made their way to the Greek media. These inconsistencies – and other unanswered questions – will all be dealt with at the trial. Meanwhile, the victim's family are dealing with the aftermath of an unimaginable tragedy. The victim's brother said in a statement that 'our family is heartbroken,' but grateful to Greek police and security professionals who made the arrests. 'Przemek's ten-year-old children, who are US and Polish citizens, are now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures,' the victim's brother Łukasz Jeziorski said in a statement. 'Our primary concern is their safety and wellbeing, and helping them reconnect with their family to minimize the trauma they have already endured.' Jeziorski's family started an online fundraiser to repatriate his remains to his native Poland and pay for legal representation in Greece. A US State Department spokesperson told CNN the agency is providing consular assistance to the family. On Monday, the five people charged will appear in person in court for their plea, according to Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, the lawyer representing the victim's family. The court will determine whether the suspects will be remanded in custody pending the trial. A trial date will be set at a later stage, Dimitrakopoulos told CNN. 'The victim's mother and brother will take sole custody of the children,' Dimitrakopoulos told Greek media on Friday. The lawyer said that 'we've talked to the prosecutor for minors so that the victim's mom and brother can get full custody of the kids and live with them in Poland, where they are now.' 'They have the opportunity to raise them in a loving environment, in a completely protective environment,' Dimitrakopoulos said, adding that 'if the mother is acquitted, because we respect the presumption of innocence, then she has the right to request sole custody of her children.'
Politico
17-07-2025
- Politico
Massachusetts court crisis
DAY IN COURT — Attorneys who represent defendants who can't afford one themselves want a pay raise that would put their rates closer to their counterparts in neighboring states. The lawmakers who already cut spending from the state's annual budget — and are bracing for the fallout from federal spending cuts — don't see any place to pull the money from. The standoff is on the precipice of exploding into a major political headache for Gov. Maura Healey. So-called bar advocates stopped taking new cases in late May as they called for the state to raise their rate by $35 an hour. The raise would put their pay at $100 an hour for district court cases — an ask that may seem like a leap, but would move them closer to other states like New Hampshire and Rhode Island (one's where the cost of living is less expensive than in Massachusetts, they point out). The work stoppage is leaving defendants without counsel, and some have started to be released, thanks to a Supreme Judicial Court rule that requires defendants be released after seven days without a lawyer. After 45 days without representation, those cases can be dismissed — and since the work stoppage began just after Memorial Day, that could be imminent for some defendants. It's an easy opening for Healey's Republican opponents, who have spent the first few months of the nascent race criticizing the Democratic governor over state spending and safety. Both state officials and bar advocates say they're looking for a quick solution. 'It's a matter of public safety,' Healey said on Wednesday. 'It's also a matter of due process, and people are entitled to representation.' It's unclear what the ultimate fix will be, since money is tight. Budget writers in the Legislature and in Healey's office took turns shaving down the state's annual budget in recent weeks as they brace for a possible hit from federal funding cuts and uncertain revenues. '[If] we were to grant what some folks have been requesting … it's a $100 million issue,' House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz told reporters Wednesday. One idea that's been batted around: Granting the attorneys a more modest raise now, and tacking on a separate pay rate increase later on. But ultimately they'll need a longer term fix. "The Legislature could come up with a very temporary solution that might plug the immediate hole that we're in,' Shira Diner of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers told Playbook. 'But then we will only be back in the situation again next year, right?' GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? 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