Palmer murder suspect indicted

PALMER -- A Palmer Superior Court grand jury issued a 12-count indictment charging a man in the killing of longtime Palmer resident Jane Sasseen and for allegedly using her bank card to take $4,500 from her account.

William T. Horsey III, 52, appeared for a preliminary court hearing Thursday afternoon in one courtroom, while jurors apparently took up the case in the grand jury room next door.

He was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, fraudulent use of an access device and first-degree aggravated murder.

Alaska State Troopers arrested Horsey April 12, after two video surveillance cameras, one at Northrim Bank and one at Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, reportedly showed him withdrawing Sasseen's money from automated teller machines.

Bank records from the First National Bank of Anchorage, where Sasseen had an account, indicated numerous withdrawals were made after her April 2 death. Between April 3 and April 12, cash was withdrawn sometimes twice a day, usually the maximum allowable $500 a day, according to court records.

Sasseen's body was not discovered until five days after her death, when family members reported to police that they had checked her home while looking for her and found it ransacked.

Troopers located her body, shot three times with a .38- caliber Smith & Wesson, in her walk-in bedroom closet beneath boxes and clothing, according to police reports. Later, after troopers arrested Horsey, they found what they believed to be the murder weapon in a trailer on Horsey's land. He reportedly told police he used the money to buy crack cocaine and had other financial pressures.

At Thursday's preliminary hearing, Horsey appeared in handcuffs, and sat with his shoulders shaking in sobs. District Judge Suzanne Lombardi asked Horsey if he would allow her to appoint him a defense attorney.

At first, he seemed reluctant to speak to Assistant Public Defender Rachel Levitt and shook his head when asked if he wanted an attorney.

"Going forward to trial without an attorney is like performing open heart surgery with a Swiss army knife," Lombardi told him.

Horsey agreed that he wanted an attorney, but felt he couldn't afford one. Lombardi questioned him to determine whether he qualified for a court-appointed attorney, and ruled that he did qualify. Horsey said he is an equipment operator, though he has been unemployed for nine months. His property at 13800 Norman Street had been recently confiscated, he told Lombardi.

Palmer civil court records show Wells Fargo Home Mortgage held a note on Horsey's Norman Street land and home. Default filings were initiated Sept. 28 by Routh Crabtree Inc., on Wells Fargo's behalf, and Horsey's home apparently was auctioned off Jan. 3 this year.

A forcible entry and detainer motion was filed March 11 to make Horsey vacate the premises. He protested the sale at a hearing March 22 before Judge Lombardi.

At that hearing, he asked to be able to pay $1,000 a month, and additionally offered a vacant lot next to his house in order to reclaim his home.

Lombardi said Horsey's offer would be conveyed to Mat-Su Title, which purchased his home in the auction, and a new court date was set for April 1, the day prior to the alleged killing of Jane Sasseen.

Court records do not indicate what, if any, action occurred on April 1. Two additional civil filings, one by Providian National Bank and another by Sears, allege Horsey was being pursued through court action for more than $10,000 on those two debts.

Horsey has no felony record in Alaska, but was convicted in 1978 in Pikesville, Md., of assault with the intent to rob, for which he was given a three-year suspended sentence. His previous Alaska convictions include a DWI in 1995 and driving with a revoked license on March 5 of this year.

Based on additional evidence seized at Horsey's home, located three miles from Sasseen's house, troopers are continuing an investigation. The gun allegedly used as a murder weapon was registered as stolen in an unrelated house burglary, according to court records.