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Charles Meach III
Charles L. Meach III was born in 1948 to a Traverse City, Michigan, dentist and his
schizophrenic wife, who spent most of her adult life in a mental hospital. He
left Michigan for California at age sixteen, then returned to his father and
stepmother's middle-class Midwestern home three years later. Young Meach did
not conform well to society's rules. Through the years he developed a record of
drug dealing, petty larceny, trespassing, and drunken driving.
In 1967 he visited Germany and was arrested there for theft. In the early 1970s
he assaulted several people in Michigan, including a former girlfriend, but no
charges were filed. At one point his father felt Meach was so much out of
control that he needed treatment. The father arranged to have Charles committed
to a Michigan mental hospital for three days. After his release, he wandered
through several western states, finally making his way to Alaska.
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Classification: Homicide |
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Characteristics: Bludgeoned man
because "had an
irritating voice"; Shot
four teen campers who caught him stealing from their tent |
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Number of victims: 5 |
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Date of murders: 1973 / 1982 |
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Date
of arrest: May 6,
1982 |
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Date of birth: 1948 |
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Victims profile: A mentally retarded
Alaskan Indian; Joseph Kimler, 19; Vern
Sylvester, 19; Sabrina Imlach, 16; Rebecca Phillips,
16 |
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Method of murder:
Beating
/ Shooting |
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Location: Anchorage, Alaska |
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Status: Acquitted on grounds of insanity, 1973.
Sentenced to 396 years without parole
in four
counts, 1983. Died in prison |
| April 21, 1983 |
Anchorage Daily News |
page B5 |
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MEACH HEADED FOR FEDERAL PRISON |
| Mass murderer Charles Meach will be
transferred to the federal prison system soon, a corrections
division official says. Ken Brown said he received telephone
notification Tuesday that Meach will be sent to the Springfield,
Mo., medical facility for evaluation. From there he will be
sent to an unnamed federal prison, Brown said. It's unclear
how long Meach will remain in Springfield or how much longer he will
remain the Anchorage jail, Brown said. He won't be transferred
until written orders are received from federal officials, he said.
Meach was sentenced to 396 years in prison for shooting to death
four teen-agers in an Anchorage park last spring. Earlier,
Meach was found not guilty by reason of insanity for beating to
death a grocery store clerk in another Anchorage park. |
| Friday, December 10, 2004 |
The Juneau Daily News |
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CONVICTED MURDERER DIES IN ANCHORAGE JAIL CELL |
| Anchorage (AP) - A man convicted of shooting four teenagers to
death in Anchorage 22 years ago has died in his jail cell.
Corrections officials say 57-year-old Charles Meach apparently died
of natural causes. He was found dead at the Cook Inlet jail
early yesterday (Thursday) morning. Meach was serving a
396-year sentence for the 1982 shooting at Russian Jack Springs
Park. Portia Parker, deputy corrections commissioner, say
Meach was normally housed at Spring Creek prison in Seward, but had
been brought to Anchorage for some routing medical treatment.
Parker says Meach was alone in the cell when he died. State
medical examiner Franc Falico says he hopes to complete an autopsy
today (Friday) to determine the cause of death. |
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