AK AK - Cassandra Lee Boskofsky, 38, Anchorage, 7 August 2019 *NamUs #MP74082*

[Pennysmom1]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Cassandra Lee Boskofsky – The Charley Project

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Boskofsky, circa 2019

• Missing Since 08/07/2019
• Missing From Anchorage, Alaska
• Classification Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Native American
• Age 38 years old
• Height and Weight 4'11, 120 pounds
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• Distinguishing Characteristics Native American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Boskofsky may use the last name Boskofsky-Beaver. Her ears are pierced. She has a tattoo on her neck of a butterfly in faded blue and black ink, and scars on both knees.

Details of Disappearance​

Boskofsky's last known contact with law enforcement was in Anchorage, Alaska on August 7, 2019. She had lived in the 1100 block of Bentree Circle. Although she struggled with alcohol and was sometimes in unstable living situations, and had lost all seven of her children, she always kept in touch with her family and the adoptive and foster parents of her children no matter what was going on in her life. Her family reported her missing in September.

Boskofsky's family believes she may have been a victim of Brian Steven Smith, a South African national who in 2024 was convicted of killing two Anchorage women: Veronica Abouchuk in August 2018, and Kathleen Jo Henry in September 2019. He was sentenced to over 200 years in prison.

Smith would document his victims' deaths on photos and video. His cellular phone, taken from him after his arrest in October 2019, contained photographs of an unidentified bloodstained woman lying on the ground, apparently unconscious or dead. When asked about the photos, Smith said he had picked up a woman and she had passed out, so he left her alone outdoors.

In July 2024, Boskofsky's cousin filed a petition of presumptive death in Anchorage Superior Court, stating she recognized the woman in Smith's photos as Boskofsky. She recognized her cousin by the tattoo on her neck. Authorities have not confirmed that Boskofsky was one of Smith's victims, however, or even that the woman in the photos was actually dead.

Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.

 

[Pennysmom1]

July 26, 2024

Family of missing Alaska woman believes she may be Brian Smith’s third victim

A family from Ouzinkie believes their missing relative is the third victim of convicted murderer Brian Smith.

www.adn.com

July 29, 2024

APD says photos do not prove Alaska Native woman was murdered by Brian Smith

After not hearing from their loved one Cassandra Boskofsky for five long years, her family was recently shown evidence they feel finally answers what may have happened to her.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

Sept 4, 2024

Anchorage jury declares woman believed to be victim of convicted killer dead

Cassandra Boskofsky, a 38-year-old woman originally from Ouzinkie, went missing in 2019. Her family has publicly said they believe she was a victim of Brian Smith.

www.adn.com

July 30, 2024

In Anchorage protest, woman’s family says she is convicted killer Brian Smith’s third victim

Cassandra Boskofsky’s family says she is the woman in photos on Smith’s phone released after his murder convictions this year.

www.ktoo.org

 

[Pennysmom1]

Cassandra Boskofsky, Missing from Alaska since 2019.

A blog about the many missing, murdered, and unidentified Native/Indigenous/Aboriginal women of the United States and Canada. Say Their Names!

www.justicefornativepeople.com

 

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[imstilla.grandma]

The Anchorage Police Department is featured prominently in the national investigative documentary series “Lost Women of Alaska,” which examines the case of serial killer Brian Steven Smith, who was arrested in 2019 and convicted for torturing and killing two Alaska Native women.

In the three-part series now streaming on HBO Max, the victims’ families and advocates raise lingering questions and concerns around how Anchorage detectives handled the case, both before and after Smith’s arrest. They also raise broader questions about how law enforcement investigates missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP).

Livingston said he’s concerned that the policy and culture of “NIH” has continued in the department. He and other advocates and family members criticized detectives for failing to identify a third possible victim of Smith, Cassandra Boskofsky, after photos of her were discovered on Smith’s phone in 2019. She had been reported missing the month before Smith’s arrest. Advocates found the photos and a forensic sketch in court documents during Smith’s sentencing in 2024, and later identified her.

“When I look at the amount of work the Anchorage Police Department did or didn’t do with Cassandra Lee Boskofsky, I can’t help but wonder if, because of the challenges that Cassandra faced in her life, the Anchorage Police Department did not dedicate the amount of attention that they should have,” Livingston said, in the docuseries.

Anchorage police chief defends handling of serial killer case featured in MMIP docuseries

Chief Sean Case addressed questions raised by the national series and said recent policy changes, outreach, and coordination are helping the department improve MMIP investigations.

www.kyuk.org