Andrews made prior threats

The Palmer District Attorney's Office had the basis two years ago for a similar domestic-violence case against the Wasilla man who reportedly shot an Alaska State Trooper, then his two children and himself on Saturday.

Charges were filed May 26, 1999, against Ryan Andrews, 24, but those charges had to be dropped after his girlfriend did not come forward to testify before a grand jury, according to the Palmer district attorney.

Andrews apparently had a history marked with suicide threats coupled with threats to kill family members. The 1999 domestic-violence complaint against Andrews was eerily similar to what he seemed to have carried out Saturday in the Best View Motor Home Park.

Amy Cordell, 25, went to the Wasilla Police Station on May 26, 1999, to report Andrews had threatened to kill her; their baby daughter, Cheyenne; and himself.

"She indicated he had made threats like this three times in the past but was not in possession of a gun," said Roman Kalytiak, Palmer district attorney. "

She talked about other incidents where [Andrews] had lost his temper. On this day, he had apparently hit her on the face and threw an object at her."

A protective order was issued for Cordell on that date, and Andrews was arrested and brought to the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in Palmer.

On June 7, 1999, the district attorney's office had arranged to have Cordell come to a meeting prior to Andrews' bail hearing, but she did not show up, Kalytiak said.

At the bail hearing, Palmer District Court Magistrate David Zwink released Andrews to two third-party custodians, with the conditions that he not possess a firearm, consume alcohol, or contact Cordell.

Between June 8, 1999 and Oct. 1 of that year, numerous attempts were made to contact Cordell and arrange for her grand jury testimony, which was set for Oct. 1. "We left urgent messages with her baby sitter, her brother, and sent her a letter asking for her urgent response," Kalytiak said.

"At times we were able to get a hold of the victim and at times we were unable to get a hold of her," Kalytiak said. "Eventually what happened is that she wanted to dismiss the case out of some pressure from him. And I'm sure she was afraid to testify."

Usually on domestic-violence cases, the district attorney can bring charges for a grand jury's review without the victim's testimony by using police evidence such as photos and through police testimony, Kalytiak said.

But this case required Cordell's testimony because she had made the report at the Wasilla Police Department station, without an officer investigating the incident in her home.

The Frontiersman sought this week to locate Amy Cordell, but attempts to reach her were not successful. Information in this story about the alleged 1999 domestic-violence incident reflects only facts taken from court documents and information from the district attorney's office.

Andrews displayed several other indicators of his tendency to make violent threats, court records showed.

He was convicted of felony assault and malicious mischief in 1995, at the age of 18. Those charges stemmed from an Anchorage incident in which Andrews was accused of threatening two minors with a gun. He was sentenced to four years in jail, but 2 1-2 years were suspended, with five years' probation.

He apparently served about 1 1-2 years in jail, then was released in 1997, and sent back to jail on parole violations -- it was alleged that he had been in possession of a gravity knife and had been in the company of another person who was on probation. For that he was sentenced to another 15 months in jail.

At the time of the Wasilla shootings, it was illegal for Andrews to have a gun in his possession.

Kalytiak said he's been asked what the district attorney's office could have done to force the domestic-violence case to court. "I suppose we could have searched the state and brought her in to testify," he said. "But I don't favor taking actions like that because it punishes the victim."