ANCHORAGE, Alaska—An Alaska serial killer who confessed to murdering five people, including one when he was only 14, has passed away in an Indiana prison, according to officials.
Joshua Wade, aged 44, was discovered unresponsive in his cell on June 14, as confirmed by Brandi Pahl, a spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Correction, in an email on Friday.
“Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead,” she stated.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death after Wade’s passing at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana. An email sent to the La Porte County, Indiana coroner has not been returned as of Friday.
Wade was convicted of state and federal crimes in 2010 and was serving his sentence at Spring Creek Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in Seward, Alaska. Four years later, he made a deal to be transferred to a federal prison in Indiana in exchange for admitting to additional murders.
In 2000, Wade was accused of killing Della Brown by hitting her in the head with a large rock. Her body was later found in a shed. However, a jury only convicted him of witness tampering and acquitted him of murder and sexual assault charges.
Shortly after completing his sentence for tampering, Wade bound, gagged, kidnapped, tortured, and then shot his neighbor, nurse practitioner Mindy Schloss, in a wooded area near Wasilla in 2007. He faced state and federal charges for this crime.
Wade entered into a plea agreement, receiving life sentences for both state and federal charges related to the Schloss killing and also admitting to the killing of Brown. This plea spared him from the death penalty if convicted by a federal jury, as Alaska does not have capital punishment.
Wade was sentenced in separate proceedings on February 17, 2010, in state and federal court. During both appearances, he expressed remorse for his actions.
In state court, he stated, “I deserve much worse. I’m sorry,” while looking at family members of the two murdered women.
In federal court, he repeated his apology but then engaged in a heated exchange with U.S. District court Judge Ralph Beistline.
Beistline described Wade as heartless, selfish, and a coward, leading Wade to respond angrily, “Don’t push it, man.” The judge insisted, “I’m going to push it.”
Beistline highlighted Wade’s anger as indicative of the danger he posed, especially considering the brutality inflicted on Schloss.
Following four years in an Alaska prison, Wade struck another deal with prosecutors that resulted in his transfer to a federal prison in Indiana. In return, he confessed to the murders of John Michael Martin in 1994 and Henry Ongtowasruk in 1999, along with an unnamed man on the night he killed Brown.
Then-Alaska Assistant Attorney General John Novak explained to The Associated Press that allowing Wade to move to a federal prison would dismiss a post-conviction relief case, ensuring he remained incarcerated.
Novak emphasized the importance of upholding Wade’s convictions, considering the unpredictability of juries and Wade’s previous acquittal in the Brown murder trial.
It remains unclear when and for what reason Wade was transferred from the federal facility in Terre Haute to the Indiana State Prison.
By Mark Thiessen
Please rephrase
Source link
