Updated: APD charges 3 in murder of missing man

September 01, 2010|by Channel 2 News staff

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — UPDATE: All three men charged with the murder of Harvey Albright are in police custody.

Anchorage police found remains Tuesday night believed to be those of a man reported missing last week, and have charged three people with his murder.

According to APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker, detectives believe Harvey “Charley” Albright, who was reported missing last Wednesday, was killed by Carl Leedom and Kennith Upton, both 23-year-old Eagle River residents, and 24-year-old Chugiak resident Philip Floor.

Officials say Leedom threatened to kill Albright for stealing a backpack containing cash and other items, and confronted him about it last Tuesday night at Upton’s Eagle River house, where Albright was spending the night.

Early the next morning Leedom invited Floor to Upton’s house and they allegedly began to beat Albright to “teach him a lesson.” The sound awakened Upton, who also began to beat Albright. Leedom then pistol-whipped Albright, who stopped breathing during the attack.

Floor and Upton began performing CPR on Albright, but he remained unconscious and they were uncertain whether he resumed breathing at any point.

Police say Leedom told the others to put Albright’s body into Floor’s pick-up, and Leedom and Floor drove out of Anchorage to the banks of a river and dumped Albright’s body. Upton remained in his home where he attempted to clean the crime scene.

“What's in the mind of a person doing this, I can't tell you, but I can tell you beating a person is a very dangerous thing -- because you never know when you are going to go a little bit too far and actually cause a person’s death,” Parker said.

Leedom, Floor and Upton are all charged with murder in the second degree and evidence tampering.

Floor was arraigned Wednesday. Leedom was arraigned Thursday. APD officials report that Upton was taken into custody Thursday afternoon and will be arraigned Friday.

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