FILE 594 / 3 May 2025 / 71 MIN / express

Family Murder Spree

Chugiak, AlaskaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

we're going up to alaska this week... who chugiak... c-h-u-g-i-a-k alaska about 0:03:10

History, in brief

Town note

The area along the Palmer Highway had been home to the Dena'ina Athabascans for thousands of years.

about 0:05:07

1947

The settlement was named Chugiak in 1947 by non-native arrivals.

about 0:05:23

Town note

The name is said to come from a Native word meaning 'place of many places'.

about 0:05:31

Town note

Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, mainly by former military personnel who had been stationed in Alaska during the Second World War and stayed.

about 0:05:54
All 5 history facts

Town note

The area along the Palmer Highway had been home to the Dena'ina Athabascans for thousands of years.

about 0:05:07

1947

The settlement was named Chugiak in 1947 by non-native arrivals.

about 0:05:23

Town note

The name is said to come from a Native word meaning 'place of many places'.

about 0:05:31

Town note

Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, mainly by former military personnel who had been stationed in Alaska during the Second World War and stayed.

about 0:05:54

Town note

It grew as a suburban expansion of Anchorage.

about 0:06:08

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$417,563
Median household income$143,312
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population

"6,563"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:03:43

Median household income

"$143,312"

Comparison: "about $69,000 in the rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:03

Median home price

"$417,563"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:28

The reviews

4.3 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“A small-town neighbourhood and close community that bands together when needed; everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other.”
about 0:06:18

4 stars

“There are positives and negatives to small-town life, but plenty of activities, the favourite being a top-notch community band open to anyone.”
about 0:06:44

4 stars

“A suburb of Anchorage surrounded by ocean and mountains, good for skiing, hiking, kayaking, fishing and hunting; safe with many parks, little nightlife but Anchorage twenty minutes away.”
about 0:07:11

In Alaska

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  3. Mountain MassacreMcCarthy, Alaska · 3 October 2024353 km / 219 miShow on map
  4. The Hidden MurdererFairbanks, Alaska · 15 May 2026396 km / 246 miShow on map
  5. Watch My RevengeKodiak, Alaska · 13 August 2022431 km / 268 miShow on map

The story

Shortly after 9.30pm on 19 October 1990, three eighteen-year-olds from the Chugiak area north of Anchorage set out for a night in town. They were heading for the Big Timber Motel on Fifth Avenue, where they planned to rent a room, drink, smoke and watch MTV.

On the Glenn Highway a red Toyota MR2 passed them. The bullet went through the rear window and struck the passenger in the back of the head. He was Jeffrey Kane, twenty, a computer operator at Fort Richardson who was closing on a two-bedroom house and had a date with his girlfriend that night. He died instantly. The driver, Robert Chamberlain, also twenty, drove to the Kentucky Fried Chicken off the highway, where Kane's car was parked, and called for help.

Kerr was badly shaken and asked to be let out. The next day, 20 October, he told his boss at J.D.'s Barbecue in Eagle River what had happened. The boss put him in touch with a lawyer and the two went to the police station at 4.30pm.

The story did not end there.

The parcel was addressed to George Kerr, with 'State of Alaska' as the return address, and posted to the family home in Thunderbird Heights. On 17 September 1991 David Kerr, George's father, opened it, thinking it might need forwarding. It exploded, killing him instantly and blowing out the kitchen wall. His wife Michelle, thirty-four and George's stepmother, suffered massive facial, chest and neck injuries; she needed nearly a dozen operations, lost teeth and her senses of smell and taste, and had glass working its way out of her eyes for years.

A neighbour, Roy Kennedy, whose motorhome the same group had bombed in 1989, thought two bombs in one small area was too much of a coincidence and called the postal inspector. Federal agents pieced the plot together.

The case

Murder of Jeffrey Kane

Victims

Jeffrey Kane (20). computer operator at Fort Richardson, closing on a two-bedroom house near his parents

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 3 May 2025.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Robert Chamberlain. 20-year-old driver of the Toyota MR2, unhurt; drove to the KFC and called for help
Roy Kennedy. neighbour whose motorhome the three had blown up in 1989

The timeline

  1. Summer of 1989 , and Kerr pipe-bomb Roy Kennedy's motorhome after Kennedy shot out the window of truck over mailbox vandalism (Roy Kennedy's motorhome)about 0:27:22
  2. October 19, 1990 buys an HK 91 rifle and the three spend the day target shooting at the gravel pitsabout 0:19:28
  3. October 19, 1990 About 9.30pm the three eighteen-year-olds set off for the Big Timber Motel to rent a room, watch MTV and party (Big Timber Motel)about 0:18:46
  4. October 19, 1990 A red Toyota MR2 passes them; thinks it cut him off and he and agree to shoot at it (Glenn Highway)about 0:22:02
  5. October 19, 1990 fires the rifle through the Toyota's rear window and hits Jeffrey Kane in the back of the head (Glenn Highway)about 0:24:31
  6. October 19, 1990 Chamberlain drives to the Kentucky Fried Chicken and calls for help (Kentucky Fried Chicken)about 0:24:44
  7. October 20, 1990 Kerr tells his boss at J.D.'s Barbecue about the shooting and the boss puts him in touch with a lawyer (J.D.'s Barbecue)about 0:29:56
  8. October 20, 1990 Kerr and the lawyer go to the police station at 4.30pm to turn the others inabout 0:30:38
  9. October 21, 1990 Kerr, wired by police, records making incriminating statements about the shootingabout 0:31:56

Murder of David Kerr

Victims

David Kerr. George Kerr's father; killed instantly when the parcel bomb opened
Michelle Kerr (34). David's wife and George's stepmother; survived with massive facial, chest and neck injuries

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 3 May 2025.

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

George Kerr. the intended target, by then in the Navy; the bomb was addressed to him and opened by his father
Roy Kennedy. neighbour who had been bombed in 1989; telephoned the postal inspector after the Kerr explosion
Michelle Kerr. survivor who testified that deserved life

The timeline

  1. Summer of 1991 and , imprisoned over the shooting, vow to get even with George Kerr and pass notes through a third partyabout 0:49:20
  2. September 13, 1991 The bomb is completed: a grey substance with red and yellow wires and a battery in a small white box ('s house)about 0:52:32
  3. September 17, 1991 David Kerr opens the parcel at home and it explodes, killing him and badly injuring Michelle Kerr (Kerr house)about 0:44:41
  4. September 18, 1991 Roy Kennedy telephones the postal inspector about the earlier motorhome bombabout 0:46:37

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode