PORT ANGELES — The prime suspect in the death of Native American woodcarver George Cecil David in Port Angeles nearly 10 years ago appeared Tuesday in Clallam County Superior Court, where she is facing a second-degree murder charge.
Tina Marie Alcorn, 54, was booked into the Clallam County jail on Monday night after she waived extradition from Phillips County, Ark., where a Port Angeles Police Department (PAPD) detective and an officer took her into custody.
They were acting on a warrant issued by Clallam County Superior Court Judge Simon Barnhart, who granted the PAPD’s request to arrest Alcorn based on a probable cause statement.
Alcorn is scheduled for arraignment at 9 a.m. June 20.
Assistant Attorney General Melanie Tratnik with the state Attorney General’s office filed the criminal charge against Alcorn and asked Superior Court Judge Brent Basden to retain the $1 million bail Barnhart had imposed.
Tratnik said Alcorn’s actions within days of David’s death around April 2016, such as changing her appearance by cutting and dyeing her hair and leaving Port Angeles, and the severity of charges merited the bail amount.
“It was a violent attack in which the victim was struck repeatedly in the head with a heavy object,” Tratnik said.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said the Attorney General’s office, not his office, would be prosecuting the case.
David’s body was found March 28, 2016, in a Port Angeles apartment where he had been staying. The 65-year-old Neah Bay resident was a renowned master woodcarver with family on the Olympic Peninsula and in British Columbia.
Port Angeles police identified Alcorn as a suspect early in its investigation. She was taken into custody, but charges were not filed at that time. She was later extradited to Arkansas for violating the conditions of her probation on an unrelated felony theft conviction.
The department reopened the case last year and partnered with the state Attorney General’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force, which provided critical investigation support and resources, PAPD Chief Brian Smith said in a statement.
“This case has never been forgotten,” Smith said. “The renewed investigation, bolstered by our partnership with the MMIWP Task Force, reflects our commitment to justice and to honoring George David’s memory.”
David’s nephew, Jim Thompson, a lieutenant with the Lower Elwha Klallam Police Department, said it means a lot to see his uncle receive justice.
“We’re thankful as a family the state Attorney General was able to help out the local authorities to bring this case to court,” Thompson said.
“This lets us start on our path to healing and closure.”
The Port Angeles Police Department continues to lead the investigation. It encourages anyone with information related to the case call the department at 360-452-4545, ext. 1.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden, upper left, presides on Tuesday over the first appearance of Tina Marie Alcorn, right, on a second-degree murder charge. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
