James Dale Ritchie

On April 26, 2017, APD spokesperson Renee Oistad announced that sufficient probable cause was determined to confirm that Ritchie was solely responsible for the five murders and, therefore, a confirmed serial killer. Investigators had traced the Colt Python handgun's whereabouts back to confirm that it had found its way into Ritchie's possession prior to the murders of Foisy and Netter in July 2016. With Oistad's announcement, the cases were closed. A month later, on May 23, the Anchorage Police Department released dashcam footage recorded just prior to Ritchie and Salao's confrontation, as well as details pertaining to Ritchie's personal history.

Ritchie committed his first two confirmed murders during the early morning hours of July 3, 2016, when he shot 20-year-old Brianna Foisy and 41-year-old Jason Netter Sr. The two bodies were discovered together along a bike path near Ship Creek by a bicyclist at 7:45 a.m. Netter was noted for having extensive run-ins with the law, often regarding his drug-related activity, as well as child support issues with his two daughters, one of whom changed her name. Foisy was homeless and had fallen into substance abuse as well, denying intervention offered by her adoptive mother, Marcella Foisy. The nature of Foisy and Netter's relationship – if any – was not determined or disclosed. On July 5, the murders were ruled a double homicide by the APD. After reviewing hours of surveillance footage, the APD released images of two unidentified men who were persons of interest for the investigation.

Following Thompson's murder, his mother, Mandy Premo, had conducted an independent investigation to discover her son's killer. After searching homeless camps and low-income neighborhoods, Premo claimed to have located an armed Ritchie near the Alaska Regional Hospital in October 2016. Premo claimed to have contacted the APD lieutenant and reported that she had found her son's killer. She claimed to have contemplated over the phone confronting Ritchie directly, which the lieutenant advised against, as he was armed and her infant child was in the car.

Ritchie was killed near the corner of 5th Avenue and Cordova Street in Anchorage during a gunfight with Officer Arn Salao and Sergeant Marc Patzke of the APD on November 12, 2016. Officer Salao, while responding to an unrelated report of unpaid taxi cab fares, spotted Ritchie walking down the street at 4:30 a.m. Salao pulled up alongside Ritchie and asked for him to stop, presumably to ask him if he had witnessed the crime. Ritchie continued walking, prompting Salao to repeat the question over his megaphone.

Ritchie was immediately identified as being the assailant responsible for Thompson's murder, due to the witnesses and the identification of his photo identification matching the composite sketch. While the APD continued to collect evidence implicating Ritchie's involvement in the other homicides tied to the Colt Python, the FBI looked to trace Ritchie's activities in Virginia and Nevada prior to returning to Alaska in 2016.

In 2013, Ritchie lent his handgun over to an acquaintance and moved to Broadway, Virginia, where his parents had been living at the time. Save for a pair of moving violations, Ritchie had no court appearances and was observed by the police as being a law-abiding citizen. Following a breakup with his girlfriend, Ritchie returned to Alaska in March 2016. He reacquired the Colt Python from his acquaintance and moved to Airport Heights, where he stayed before moving to Penland Parkway trailer park in Anchorage. Ritchie sought mental health treatment, though the Anchorage Police Department (APD) could not ascertain if he had received a diagnosis.

The police arrived at Bolin Street, where they found Thompson, who was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after. Under Sergeant Slawomir Markiewicz's direction, witnesses were interviewed and enough testimonials were given that a composite sketch of the suspect – who would later be positively identified as Ritchie – was created. Shortly after Thompson's murder, the Alaska State Crime Lab confirmed that the same murder weapon used in Foisy and Netter's murders was also used in Thompson's murder.

The FBI offered a $10,000 reward leading to the apprehension of the suspect responsible for Thompson's murder, while refusing to comment on any connection to the other murders, due to the concern that acknowledging that a weapon tying all the crimes together would run the risk of prompting the killer to dispose of it. The joint APD and FBI task force subsequently received upwards of 175 tips over the following two months – at least one of which pertained to Ritchie.

After a semester at WVU, Ritchie dropped out and returned to Alaska, and became involved in drug dealing and dog fighting in 1995. By 1998, Ritchie had adopted the street name "Tiny". Over the following seven years, Ritchie was arrested a number of times, predominantly for drug-related offenses. He was arrested for the last time in Alaska in 2005, when he was apprehended while committing a home invasion with plastic handcuffs and two handguns in his possession. After serving two years in custody, he resided in Alaska, during which time he acquired a Colt Python handgun.

James Dale Ritchie (November 4, 1976 – November 12, 2016) was an American serial killer. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. Following his death, a Colt Python handgun on his person connected him to the string of murders he committed over the course of two months.

James Dale Ritchie was born on November 4, 1976. He grew up in Anchorage's Wonder Park neighborhood and attended East Anchorage High School, where – standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – he was noted as being a standout athlete, having played on the 1994 state championship football and basketball teams alongside future professional athletes Trajan Langdon and Mao Tosi. Ritchie was a close friend of Quincy and Bobby Thompson, whose family hosted him often throughout his teenage years.

After seventy-eight hours of investigation and contacting the victims' families, APD Chief Chris Tolley hosted a press conference in which he announced the connection between the homicides and the attempt on Officer Salao's life. Additionally, Lieutenant John McKinnon confirmed that the investigation had revealed a connection between the murders, but the task force withheld it from the public out of concern that Ritchie would have disposed of the Colt Python had he realized it was being sought. The weapon, which had been purchased in 1971, was not registered to Ritchie; the original owner was questioned by the APD, with the intent of discovering how it found its way into Ritchie's possession.