Crime & Courts

Bethel man faces murder charge in wife’s death

A Bethel man has been charged with murder after his wife was found dead Sunday.

Police in the Western Alaska hub town of about 6,500 received a call from "someone in the neighborhood" about a woman not breathing in a house on Jacob's Way around 6:38 a.m. Sunday, said Bethel Police Chief Burke Waldron.

When police and medics arrived they found Marie Beebe Lupie, 46, dead, according to a statement from the department released Sunday.

She "appeared to have suffered multiple contusions and lacerations and is believed to be the victim of a homicide," the statement said.

Her husband, Jason Joseph Lupie, 39, was questioned and arrested at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, police said in a statement.

He is charged with a single count of second-degree murder. He's expected to be arraigned in Bethel Monday, Waldron said.

Lupie is also facing felony assault charges in a separate case that dates back to May.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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