GUILTY AK - Miley Edwards-Gust, 3, froze to death in her Barrow home, 2 Feb 2012

[thepinkdragon]

A friend of mine actually lives in Barrow and her husband is a police officer there. We were stationed in Anchorage with them when they were still affiliated with the Army. I don't know how many of you are familiar with Alaska, especially the northern most slope, but all of the luxuries we have easy access to in the lower 48 are very hard to come by there in the villages. The only places that have "normal" access to everyday things we take for granted like shopping malls, multiple groceries, paved roads, clinics, substance abuse programs, homeless shelters etc are in major cities and their surrounding boroughs. (Anchorage and surrounding areas, Fairbanks, Seward etc.) The remote villages in Alaska like Barrow get their food and other supplies sent by barge. I know that their gas supply only comes like once every 6 months. The reason I am saying this is because since Barrow is a damp city, not dry, legal alcohol is few and far between. I can see why there was bootlegged alcohol present. It is also true that alcoholism is very rampant within the native people there because of alcohol/drugs that are brought back into the villages when members travel to the major cities to bring back supplies by snowmobile. Barrow is a tiny place. There aren't even any major roads to access it. My friends had to sell their vehicle and buy an old 9 passenger van for travel when they arrived by plane. They live in an odd apartment and they had to fix a lot of things, so it isn't totally unbelievable about the door latch, however, there is no excuse for the mother and boyfriend to have left it that way or shut the girls inside etc. -30 is extremely cold. I am shocked the 1 yr old survived. I know this case weighs heavy on the hearts of the Barrow Police. Also, it doesn't surprise me about the Police Chief not having a working home phone either. He probably uses the one at work and phone, internet etc service is intermittent there at times. Think of a hard to find tiny remote country town with one stop sign and then throw it in the middle of the arctic with polar bears, moose, whales, seals and the northern lights. That is Barrow.

 

[Roxye]

http://www.ktva.com/home/outbound-x...e-Death-of-a-Barrow-3-Year-Old-150107955.html

Originally both Tilden and the mother of the girls, Esther Edwards-Gust, an elementary school teacher, were charged with two counts of felony assault, but since have been charged with more.

Tilden is being charged with two counts of second-degree assault, one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Edwards-Gust is being charged with two counts of second-degree assault, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

According to documents, Tilden had red watery eyes and smelled of alcohol when police arrived at their residents. Two bottles of Rich and Rare whiskey were also on the floor of the family’s home.

Tilden has a history of felony and misdemeanor offenses, according to court documents. He had been previously charged with first degree vehicle theft, fourth-degree assault, furnishing alcohol to a minor, selling alcohol without a license, importing alcohol to a dry area and breaking the city curfew in Dillingham.

Also Tilden has three previous DUI convictions.

 

[Filly]

Special thanks, Roxye for keeping us up on this sad, senseless case. You are appreciated.

 

[OkieGranny]

From April 2013:

http://www.adn.com/article/20130419/7-year-sentence-toddlers-death-draws-protest-barrow

A man who left an infant and 3-year-old girl overnight in a freezing Barrow bedroom, killing the older girl, was sentenced this month to seven years in prison.

Several Barrow residents staged a protest Friday saying they were outraged at what they considered to be a light sentence for 30-year-old Richard Tilden Jr., who had been drinking while babysitting. Tilden pleaded guilty on April 11 to criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.

"People that have caught a walrus or a polar bear off-season or inappropriately, they get more time than this guy did," said protester Stefanie Lozano.

From November 2014:

http://www.adn.com/article/20141102...n-murder-manslaughter-charges-daughters-death

A Barrow jury last week found Esther Edwards-Gust, 30, of New Stuyahok, not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter and second-degree assault after a 2012 incident that left her 3-year-old daughter dead.

The felony charges were all lessened to reckless endangerment charges, class A misdemeanors. For the charges of reckless endangerment, Edwards-Gust was ordered to serve 365 days in jail with credit for time served and complete treatment at Ernie Turner Center in Anchorage. She was also placed on probation until Oct. 10, 2015.