Justice for Cassandra Lee Boskofsky: Demand Accountability and Policy Reform 

The Issue 
On September 4, 2024, an Anchorage jury unanimously declared Cassandra Lee Boskofsky legally dead at a presumptive death hearing. 
Her family believes she was killed on September 19, 2019. 
Cassandra was last heard from in the summer of 2019. In September 2019, she was officially reported missing. 
In October 2019, when police arrested convicted murderer Brian Steven Smith, detectives extracted graphic photographs from his phone showing a woman severely beaten and either unconscious or dead. Those photographs were later included in a July 3, 2024, sentencing memorandum prior to Smith’s sentencing. 
Smith was convicted in February 2024 of murdering Veronica Abouchuk and Kathleen Jo Henry and was sentenced to 226 years in prison. Prosecutors presented disturbing video and photo evidence at trial, showing Smith torturing and killing vulnerable women. 
Even though Cassandra’s family believes she is Smith’s third victim, law enforcement has never positively identified the woman in the photographs as Cassandra. 
At the presumptive death hearing, Anchorage Police Department Detective Brendan Lee testified that APD could not “100% identify” the woman in the photographs as Cassandra and could not determine from the images whether the woman was deceased. 
Her family strongly disagrees. 
They pointed to a small blue butterfly tattoo, the size of the feet depicted, and other identifying characteristics in the photos. After reviewing the images, they identified the woman as Cassandra. 
Despite this, Cassandra’s remains have never been located. 
Documented Failures and Disturbing Questions 
According to reporting and public court records: 
In October 2019, APD possessed graphic images of a woman found on Smith’s phone. 
At that time, Cassandra had already been reported missing. 
APD investigators initially claimed they could not determine whether the woman in the photos was even dead. 
A composite forensic sketch was created from the images and included in a sentencing memorandum dated July 3, 2024 — but was not released publicly. 
On July 6, 2024, Detective Lee shared the graphic photos with the Boskofsky family via Facetime.  
During Smith’s sentencing on July 12, 2024, the court was informed that the victim in the sentencing memorandum had not been identified, despite the family’s identification days earlier. 
Cassandra’s missing person report reportedly sat without meaningful action for approximately one year. 
Her family has stated they were not shown the images earlier, despite multiple people telling them the woman depicted was Cassandra. 
These actions — and inactions — raise serious concerns about investigative procedures, evidence handling, communication with families, and internal accountability. 

A Broader Crisis 
Cassandra was an Alaska Native woman. 
Her case exists within the broader crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in Alaska — where Indigenous women are disproportionately targeted and too often overlooked. 
Smith himself admitted targeting marginalized and vulnerable women. 
Cassandra was a mother of seven. She remained in constant communication with family and friends until one day, all messages stopped. 
The jury’s declaration of death brought sorrow, relief, heartbreak, and finality — but it did not bring accountability for investigative failures. 

What We Are Demanding 
We call on the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office to: 
Conduct an independent, external review of the handling of Cassandra’s missing person case. 
Publicly explain why crucial evidence recovered in October 2019 was not immediately connected to her disappearance. 
Clarify why the forensic sketch was not released to the public. 
Establish clear protocols for immediate cross-referencing of recovered digital evidence with all active missing persons reports. 
Require timely supervisory review when a missing person case remains inactive for extended periods. 
Create mandatory standards for family notification when evidence potentially involving their loved one is discovered. 
Provide annual public reporting on missing persons case progress and status. 
 
Why This Matters 
A missing person report should never sit for a year. 
Graphic evidence connected to a convicted murderer should never remain disconnected from an active missing woman’s case. 
Families should never learn crucial information through informal channels. 
Transparency should not require a jury to declare a loved one dead five years later. 
Cassandra Lee Boskofsky was not a file. 
She was not a photograph in a memorandum. 
She was a daughter. A mother. A family member. A human being. 
Her family deserves answers. 
Our community deserves accountability. 
And future victims deserve systems that do not allow cases like this to be overlooked.