By Michael Armstrong

Homer Independent Press

Reader Advisory: This story contains descriptions of harmful activities and criminal conduct that may disturb some readers.

Correction: This story incorrectly stated that Anesha “Duffy” Murnane’s step-father Ed Berg, attended a court hearing on Dec. 17. He did not attend in person or by phone. The date of when a presumptive death jury determined she was dead has been corrected to June 27, 2021.

Six years after Anesha “Duffy” Murnane disappeared in Homer, and more than three years after a Kenai grand jury indicted a man for kidnapping and murdering her, the case may be nearing a resolution.

At an omnibus hearing held Dec. 17 at the Kenai Courthouse, Kenai Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson set a new hearing date of Jan. 21 to consider a possible plea deal for Kirby Calderwood, the man accused of killing Murnane.

At the hearing, Calderwood’s lawyer, Michael Moberly, said he and his client were close to making a plea deal with prosecutors but needed another month to work on it.

“The likelihood is, I hope, that we can work out some final details for a notice of change of plea,” Moberly said at the hearing. “I think that that would be in the interest of justice, and would even with — I would hope — the alleged victims would see the utility of a final continuance (of the hearing) if it could get this case resolved.”

Speaking for Murnane’s family, Michael Huelsman of Anchorage, Murnane’s uncle, wrote in an email, “It is the family’s view that the best outcome for all concerned, including the defendant, the family, the people of Homer etc,. is for there to be a negotiated settlement of the case, as outlined by the prosecutor to family members in late October of this year. Our take from the hearing today is that a settlement consistent with the prosecutor’s outline to us appears close. Thus we are hopeful that a plea agreement will soon be reached.”

About 20 court watchers consisting of friends of the Murnane family attended the hearing in support of the family. Murnane’s mother, Sara Coner Murnane Berg, who led the community-wide effort to find her missing daughter, died Jan. 24, 2024. An attorney for the Alaska Office of Victims Rights also attended.

The plea negotiations come at a time when the state’s criminal justice system is under scrutiny for long delays getting to trial. The time to resolve Alaska’s most serious felony cases, including murders, has nearly tripled over the past decade, according to a recent investigation by ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News. Some criminal cases have taken as long as a decade to reach juries. Last March, the Alaska Supreme Court placed new limits on how long criminal cases can be postponed.”

Calderwood, 35, attended his hearing by telephone from Wildwood Pretrial Facility, where he has been held since being extradited in November 2022 from Ogden, Utah, where he moved after living in Homer. He faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with physical evidence and manslaughter.

Lawson kept on the court calendar a Feb. 17 jury trial at the Kenai Courthouse for Calderwood. She said she would address the issue of a trial at the Jan. 21 hearing.

“I’m not hearing a request to move the trial beyond that, so I don’t need to address further findings if we’re going to have an omnibus hearing in January, as I heard requested,” Lawson said.

Even if a plea deal isn’t reached this month, at the hearing Moberly said he’s not committed to a February trial date.

“I guess I’m not committed to the February date because I’ve not been retained for trial, not an issue I’ve bothered the court with, and I wouldn’t think that it would be necessary if we can get the case resolved,” he said.

In the event a plea deal isn’t reached and the case goes to trial, Moberly said a February trial date wouldn’t be realistic because of the need to prepare for trial.

“I can tell you right now that there’s loading practice and other things that would be necessary prior to a February date,” he said, referring to preparing evidence and other documents for trial.

Lawson would have to approve any delay in trial or appointment of a new defense attorney.

The trial has been delayed three years because the defense was reviewing a large amount of evidence, Huelsman said the family had been told. At an Oct. 27 hearing, Huelsman wrote, the family learned the defense was ready to discuss a possible negotiated settlement.

Murnane went missing Oct. 17, 2019, while she walked from her home at MainTree Housing on Main Street to a doctor’s appointment at Seldovia Village Tribe Health Clinic on East End Road. Friends and family started extensive searches in the Homer area through the fall and into the next year. Search dogs tracked Murnane’s scent to near the Kachemak Bay Campus on Pioneer Avenue, where they lost the scent — an indication Murnane might have been picked up.

Homer Police hired as a special investigator Matt Haney, a former Homer police officer who after his career in Homer gained experience in missing and murdered persons investigations.

A Homer Presumptive Death Jury declared Murnane dead June 17, 2021, determining her death was most likely a homicide. Murnane’s family commissioned Homer artist Brad Hughes to create a memorial to Murnane and other missing and murdered women. That art, the Loved & Lost Bench, was dedicated at the Homer Public Library on June 22 at a combined memorial service for Murnane and missing and murdered Indigenous women, whose family members also spoke at the dedication.

Homer Police on May 7, 2022, said Calderwood abducted Murnane while she walked on Pioneer Avenue and took her to an unoccupied Homer house where he sexually assaulted her and hurt her before killing her. Calderwood later moved to Utah.

According to charging documents, Calderwood knew Murnane from when he worked at MainTree Housing, a supported housing apartment complex operated by South Peninsula Behavioral Health Services. Homer Police said Calderwood had been identified as a person of interest before his arrest. The case broke in April 2022 when a person who knew Calderwood made a Crimestoppers tip and alleged that Calderwood told them about the abduction. The person later talked to Haney.

In May 2022 Haney went to Utah to work with Ogden police on the case, and the police there helped him write and serve search warrants. Calderwood had an active domestic violence restraining order against him prohibiting him from having firearms. Ogden Police made a traffic stop on Calderwood’s van and saw a rifle case. They got a warrant to search it and found rifles. Ogden Police arrested Calderwood. After serving time on the Utah charges, he was extradited in November 2022 to Alaska and has been at Wildwood Pretrial since then.

When Ogden Police searched Calderwood’s home, they found a woman’s Timex watch matching the description of a watch Murnane’s parents said she wore. They also found a missing person’s flyer for Murnane.

Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said in an interview Wednesday that Murnane’s body has not been recovered.

Michael Armstrong is the editor of the Homer Independent Press. Reach him at michael@homerindependentpress.com. Homer Independent Press Advisory Board member Tom Kizzia contributed to this article

Emotional discomfort is a common response to reading about stories like this. If thinking about these issues is challenging, professional mental-health support is an important step that healthy individuals can pursue to help manage stress and ensure their overall well-being. Resources are available below this article.

South Peninsula Behavioral Health Servicesis a local community behavioral health provider that offers mental health, substance-use, and other services, and can help connect people with appropriate mental health professionals for assessment, counseling, and support. https://www.spbhs.org/

Homer Medical Center’s behavioral health services offers assessment and treatment planning and can help connect patients with therapists or other mental health professionals in the area.

These services did not pay for any promotional placement or endorsement by Homer Independent Press, we provide this information as a public service and encourage readers to consider other services through their health care providers.