By Delcenia Cosman

Reporter, Homer Independent Press

Nearly seven years after Anesha “Duffy” Murnane disappeared, on Wednesday the community began to heal from the trauma of her search, the arrest of her murderer and the four years it took to bring him to justice. 

While at the Homer Courthouse Judge Kelly Lawson sentenced Murnane’s killer, Kirby Calderwood, to 87 years in prison, at a remote video broadcast at the Homer United Methodist Church, supporters and friends of the family gathered to see the resolution of the events that started in October 2019 when Murnane went missing. 

Heather Huelsman Byrnes, Murnane’s cousin, spoke for the family at a celebration of life held for Murnane at the Bishop’s Beach pavilion later Wednesday afternoon. She expressed gratitude for the support that the community has shown all this time as the family has worked “to reach this point of justice.”

“One thing we’d like to remember in this moment is that we are very lucky that we have had this day, that the murderer is now behind bars,” she said. “But so many families of missing and murdered women across Alaska will never have a day like this, so we hold those families especially in our hearts today.”

About 30 community members gathered Wednesday morning at the Homer United Methodist Church to watch the sentencing hearing via Zoom, to avoid crowding the limited space at the Homer Courthouse. Up to 80 other participants were also in the Zoom call to witness the proceedings.

Upon the hearing’s conclusion, after Judge Kelly Lawson read out Calderwood’s sentence, there was a moment of silence in the church.

The outcome of the hearing was not unexpected; the sentence aligns with a plea agreement made between the prosecution and defense, which Calderwood himself accepted in February. But as much as Wednesday’s hearing was an opportunity for closure, comments made afterward by members of the viewing party revealed the deep scars and collective grief which remain as the Homer community aims now to heal. 

“You feel like there’s a boogeyman out there,” said Lara Fleenor, speaking to the loss of a sense of security that came from living in a small town. “I think we all had that false sense of security until the boogeyman came out.… You can look at somebody like him, and I knew him in some capacity — I would have never guessed, I didn’t know he was the monster that he was.”

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich was also in attendance, having known Murnane’s family since he was young. It only takes a moment to take away that sense of security in community, he said, and a generation to get it back. 

Karen Murdock brought up Calderwood’s prior involvement in local community organizations and events, including South Peninsula Behavioral Health Services and Homer’s annual “Nutcracker” ballet, and questioned how to welcome people into the community while also keeping the community safe.

“If, as a community, we let this event drive fear (and) paranoia, we’re worse off than we were before,” said Toby Wheeler. “I don’t know how you maneuver and find a way through that, but I guess (we) just have to hold that question — how can we be safe as a community but not be unsafe? — in our hearts.”

Begich said he spent three decades working in restorative justice, and in that time saw the resilience of communities who experienced tragedy.

“You learn from the tragedy. The things that have changed in terms of structure don’t change who you are — dig deep for that,” he said. “I have seen communities come back from these tragedies and be stronger, not weaker…. I know that you will be that community. 

“It changes things — there’s a boogeyman, but guess what? This boogeyman got caught, and you’re all more aware of it. You’re all looking out for each other, maybe a little bit more.”

As part of the healing process and acknowledgment of the past seven years of shared grief, Murnane’s family held a community potluck Wednesday evening at Bishop’s Beach to celebrate Duffy’s life. 

Byrnes reiterated comments of gratitude that she had made earlier during the sentencing hearing.

“You would think after what happened to Duffy here in Homer, I would hate coming back here,” she said. “But I don’t. I’ve now lived in seven countries in my adult life so far, so I have some objective basis to say this, I think — the people of Homer are not just the best in Alaska, but I think best in the world. I can’t imagine a community who would respond, or could respond, with more support, more caring than the community of Homer.”

Ed Berg, Murnane’s stepfather, said it was “a day we’ve all worked for for a long, long time,” and that there was more work to be done on the “major problem” of missing and murdered individuals in Alaska.

“I’m just delighted that we were able to put that fellow away for many, many years, probably the rest of his life,” he said. “That’s one less of those people. But there are, of course, more to be taken care of. Missing and murdered women and children, and men as well, is a major problem, especially in Alaska. We need to continue that effort.”

Friends and community members in attendance had the opportunity to write letters to Duffy and her family and to take part in a community art piece created by Mavis Muller, “Sphere of Love.”

Muller wove the interactive art piece using alder branches to represent community strength through connection.

“Alder often grows in groves, and its roots and branches intertwine with each other,” she said. “One single alder branch can bend very easily, but bringing a number of branches together becomes remarkably strong — as we are. So it is with us, our community that is weaving the strength when life asks us to carry what is heavy to bear.

“Justice belongs in the courtroom. Healing belongs in the community. We will not leave Duffy behind, but carry her forward with love.”

She asked attendees to tuck spruce cones, representing “seeds for the future, seeds of love, healing, remembrance and hope,” inside and to tie red ribbons onto the sculpture “in honor of all of the stolen, missing and murdered individuals and their families and communities whose lives have been forever changed.” 

“Together, we gather what grief has broken, and we weave it back into love,” she said.

“Sphere of Love” will be incorporated into this year’s Burning Basket in September.

As a way to honor Murnane’s memory and remember her “in a better way than her tragic end,” Berg said, the family has also started Duffy’s Legacy Fund through the Homer Foundation to support early childhood education. 

Other family members and friends also shared memories of Murnane during the community gathering. 

“I think of Duffy all the time. I think (about) what she meant in our lives,” family friend Mark Marette said, expressing sorrow that Murnane never had the chance to meet his young son. 

“She was beautiful with children, and he would have been lucky to have met her,” he said. “I woke up today, it was the first of July. I looked at my son and I asked him, ‘What day is it?’

“And he said, ‘It’s Duffy’s day.’”