Palmer police make arrests in 2 early-year homicides

A police crime scene tape (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)

Palmer police have arrested two homicide suspects in the first week of 2024, in separate cases of alleged domestic violence that have strained the small department’s resources.

According to written statements posted online summarizing the cases, police took Emma Frankson, 29, into custody on Friday. She has been charged with manslaughter and first-degree assault in the death of 26-year-old Donna Jackson.

A Palmer police detective, Sgt. Lucas Szipszky, said by phone that Jackson was reported not breathing on Wednesday at a home in Palmer’s Valley Trails subdivision. Police and medics responded and soon determined that the death was suspicious.

“During that investigation, we started developing some information that led us to believe Emma was somehow involved with the death,” Szipszky said. “We eventually determined that we had enough probable cause, through some evidence that we gathered.”

According to a charging document against Frankson, she called police Wednesday afternoon to report that Jackson, her girlfriend, was dead. She told investigators they had been drinking the previous night, came home and slept separately. Police found Jackson lying clothed on a bedroom floor; an autopsy revealed injuries consistent with an assault.

Police said they received a tip that Frankson became violent when drunk, and had committed prior acts of domestic violence. In a recorded phone call with an acquaintance, Frankson allegedly admitted that she had covered Jackson’s mouth with her hands and pinned her against a wall “until she turned blue,” then left her on the floor until she discovered Jackson had died.

Palmer and Wasilla police arrested Frankson at a Wasilla hotel on Friday, according to the charges. She declined to discuss the case with investigators after her arrest.

Four days later, on Sunday morning, police responded to the second death at a home in downtown Palmer. Szipszky said the location, near the Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union’s main office, had prompted inaccurate local rumors of a bank robbery.

When officers and medics arrived at the home, they found Cristy Kaska, 69, dead. Szipszky said that detectives soon identified a suspect: her son.

“We also had contact with Chad Kaska, 52 years old,” he said. “And through this investigation and statements made, we placed him under arrest for murder in the first degree and tampering (with physical evidence).”

Szipszky said that how Cristy Kaska died remains under investigation. He referred further questions on the case to charging documents, which weren’t immediately available Tuesday from court clerks.

Palmer typically sees one domestic violence homicide per year, according to Szipszky. He said this year’s sudden death toll has been unprecedented in his 18-year career with the department as a dispatcher then an officer.

Szipszky noted that no killings have been reported in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, so far in 2024.

“I would say that this is a high year,” he said. “I think we actually have to have more homicides than Anchorage does right now.”

The Palmer Police Department has recently shifted an officer from patrol to become its second investigator, which has helped cope with the sudden load, Szipszky said. But the back-to-back homicide investigations have led to “some very long days,” he said.

Frankson was listed in custody Tuesday at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, with Chad Kaska held at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.

If you are a victim of domestic violence and are looking for resources, you can call AWAIC’s 24-hour support line at (907) 272-0100.

A full list of Alaska shelters and victim’s services providers can be found here.

Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.