Memory on trial: the manhunt for Alaska's most elusive mass murderer

Abstract

The fallibility and malleability of human memory played a confounding and troublesome role in the investigation of the 1982 murder of eight people on a fishing boat, the Investor, in Craig, Alaska, and subsequent trials of law enforcements' only suspect, John Kenneth Peel. Human memory -- including its inherent subjectivity and susceptibility to coercion and change -- ultimately resulted in an unsatisfactory resolution for victims' families and friends, law enforcement, witnesses, and others associated with the events, investigation and legal proceedings. This thesis utilizes trial records, police investigation files, newspaper stories, and personal interviews to provide a summary view of the events surrounding the murders, including what is known about the murders, as well as, the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest, two civil grand juries, two jury trials, and the eventual acquittal of John Kenneth Peel. Limitations of memory are analyzed in the context of the overarching historical narrative of a booming commercial fishing industry and a rural justice system, including a focus on eyewitness testimony and collective memory. Together these frayed cords of memory helped ensure that despite the millions of dollars and thousands of hours that have been devoted to it, the 1982 Investor tragedy remains the largest unsolved mass homicide in Alaska history, a cold case that has not been forgotten.