Son of former Alaska state Rep. Dean Westlake indicted on murder charges in his death

The son of a former Alaska legislator has been indicted on murder charges in the death of his father earlier this month in Anchorage.

Former Alaska Rep. Dean Westlake, 62, was found dead in a South Anchorage apartment on Aug. 20. His son, 36-year-old Tallon Westlake, had called Anchorage police reporting his father was unresponsive.

Tallon Westlake was initially charged with manslaughter and tampering with evidence, according to the original charging document in what authorities this week described as the beating death of his father.

The Alaska Department of Law said Tuesday that an Anchorage grand jury on Monday handed down indictments on charges of first- and second-degree murder, as well as manslaughter and tampering with evidence.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the addition of charges reflecting the more serious offense of murder.

Police found Dean Westlake’s body on the floor of a hallway in the apartment, according to the original charging documents. Officers reported they saw blood on his hands, feet and the walls of the hallway.

A neighbor told detectives she had heard arguing in the apartment the night before Dean Westlake was found, including the phrase “Screw you. I’m not leaving,” according to the charges. Dean Westlake’s girlfriend told authorities he had planned to evict his son from the apartment, the charges said.

Tallon Westlake’s bail has been set at a $25,000 cash performance bond and a $25,000 cash appearance bond, the law department said Tuesday. Bail conditions also include house arrest, an electronic monitoring device and a court-approved third-party custodian.

Dean Westlake served in the Alaska House of Representatives in 2017, representing Alaska’s North Slope and Northwest Arctic regions before resigning later that year after being accused of sexual harassment by several women and in the wake of the revelation that he had fathered a child with a teenage girl when he was 28.