The trial of Wrangell resident Steven Marshall, who is alleged in court document and police statements to have assaulted a former girlfriend – and then attempted to solicit her murder from a jail cell in Ketchikan – is set for June 3-7 in First District Court.
Marshall, 52, is accused of sexual assault and assault in the first degree, and is alleged to have raped, strangled and hit his victim, as well as threatening her with a machete, resulting in a hospitalization at Wrangell Medical Center in December 2011.
According to court documents, Wrangell police officer James Nelson arrived at the residence to the sound of loud banging noises coming from the trailer shared by the couple.
In his report, Nelson stated that he found hair next to the passenger side door of a vehicle and, during his initial investigation and contact with the victim, said he observed swelling and bruising to her face and neck.
Nelson’s report also stated that the victim told him that Marshall had put a machete to her neck – and that Marshall had swung the weapon, hitting a wall in one of the bedrooms of the residence.
In addition to the assault charges out of Wrangell, Marshall faces a solicitation for murder charge out of Ketchikan stemming from an incident alleged to have occurred at Ketchikan Correctional Center in 2012.
The new charge was filed Dec. 14 after a Ketchikan Grand Jury released a second indictment accusing him of the crime.
According to District Attorney Jean Seaton, Marshall is alleged to have asked his former cellmate at Ketchikan Correctional Center to kill the victim in the Wrangell case.
According to the Alaska Department of Corrections the initials “F.M” originally identified the cellmate in court records – but his identity was revealed last week.
Seaton and the Alaska State Attorney General’s Office issued a motion requesting a transportation order for the cellmate making the allegation against Marshall on Monday, May 13. The order, which identifies the inmate as Frank Mooney, sought to have him brought to Wrangell no later than June 5 in order to testify in the Wrangell case. The order was deemed moot, however, after Seaton learned that Mooney was no longer incarcerated and will be subpoenaed to testify instead.
While declining to officially comment on this story, Seaton did confirm that Mooney is the inmate Marshall is alleged to have solicited to kill his victim while at KCC.
Mooney was subsequently moved to Lemon Creek after the allegation of solicitation against Marshall was raised.
According to Seaton, the solicitation case is set for September in Ketchikan.
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