Man charged with murder in Eek woman’s death after standoff with law enforcement

A man is facing murder charges in the beating death Tuesday of a 38-year-old woman in a standoff in the Southwest Alaska village of Eek, Alaska State Troopers said.

The standoff occurred when 41-year-old Nick Beebe barricaded himself inside his girlfriend’s home after making threats to a village public safety officer, troopers said. A trooper fired at Beebe but did not hit him, they said.

The agency received a report around 2:20 p.m. of a domestic violence incident at an Eek home, troopers said.

A village public safety officer contacted Beebe, who had been identified as the suspect, and Beebe threatened the officer with a shotgun, troopers said. Beebe then barricaded himself inside the home while six troopers responded to the area by plane, spokesman Austin McDaniel said.

Witnesses told investigators that Beebe said he seriously assaulted 38-year-old Lorna White, who was his girlfriend, according to troopers. Troopers arrived around 3:30 p.m. and tried to negotiate with Beebe and figure out White’s condition, but he refused to talk to them, McDaniel said.

One of the troopers fired at Beebe from outside the house, but he was not struck, troopers said. McDaniel did not answer a question about whether Beebe was actively threatening the trooper when they fired and said it “is part of the active and ongoing investigation.”

A Southcentral troopers SWAT unit was called to respond around 4:15 p.m. and arrived in the village by plane around 7:30 p.m., McDaniel said. Members entered the home and arrested Beebe around 8:30 p.m., according to McDaniel. A firearm recovered from Beebe’s home was not loaded, McDaniel said.

Authorities found White dead inside the house from suspected blunt-force trauma, troopers said. Her body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy. McDaniel said authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

Beebe was arrested on charges of murder, assault and misconduct involving a weapon, troopers said. Charging documents were not immediately available Wednesday. He remained in custody Wednesday at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is handling the case, troopers said. The trooper who fired at Beebe was placed on administrative leave for three days, per department policy, they said.

Eek is a village of about 300 residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.