Pair charged with murder of man whose body was found along Jim Creek trail

PALMER — A pair of Anchorage residents — 56-year-old Brian Matthew Scheele and 27-year-old Helen Them-- were arrested last week on charges of murder in the first degree in the death of Weston Gladney, 36, whose body was found on Dec. 5 in the Jim Creek area of Butte.

The murder was believed to have taken place in Anchorage on Nov. 27, the city’s 35th of the year, exceeding the previous high of 34 set in 2016.

Troopers’ reports said Gladney’s body was unrecognizable upon discovery and had to be identified by a single thumb print. An autopsy determined Gladney had been killed by a shot through the upper chest.

A month before his death, Gladney had been incarcerated at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward. Investigators found that he had been communicating with Them from jail. In those calls, Gladney said he was going to see her and ‘surprise’ Them, whom police later learned was the mother of Gladney’s child, when he got out.

Acquaintances of Them told police she was afraid of Gladney because she feared he would become angry upon finding out the child wasn’t his.

It was in the garage at the home of Scheele, police report, that the slaying of Gladney took place.

On Dec. 11, police say they interviewed Them in jail, where she reportedly told them that “she did not know this was going to happen to Gladney but did suspect he was going to get ‘roughed up.’”

Scheele was arrested on charges of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence.