Parents of Big Lake murder victim moving forward with the support of friends and family

PALMER — Inside a Palmer courtroom, 38-year-old Big Lake resident Anthony Smith stood accused of murdering of his wife, Amy Smith, 37. During his preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Smith pleaded not guilty to first degree and second degree murder charges.

Last Saturday, Amy’s parents, Ed and Christine Moore arranged their daughters’ memorial, which, according to Ed, was “the hardest part.” Ed and Christine were present during their son-in-law’s initial court appearance, along with the suspect’s parents, Ken and Ellen Smith — longtime friends of the Moore’s and a mutual source of support as both families try to move forward.

“Events like this kind of end and begin a new chapter in your life,” Ed said. “We have to go on and count the blessings that we still have because things can always get worse.”

Since their daughter’s death, the Moores said they’ve had an outpouring of support from their friends and family. They’ve had numerous calls and visits, each one was said to help them heal.

“The fact people called really matters,” Ed said.

The Moores and Smiths have known each other for years. Anthony and Amy were childhood friends and so were their parents. Ed said that talking to Anthony’s parents has been a “good healing process” for both families. He doesn’t blame them and knows that they are hurting over this too.

“We can’t hold it against them. They’re good people,” Ed said.

Ed and Christine said they noticed a pattern with Anthony, often exhibiting volatile and violent behavior, to the point where he was barred from entering their home.

“It got to a point where he was storming in and being disrespectful. We just wouldn’t tolerate it anymore,” Ed said.

Leading up to Anthony being barred from the Moore’s residence, he showcased what seemed to be an opportunistic and predatory state of mind, they said. Ed said that most of the outbursts occurred when he was not present, meaning it was just his wife and daughter alone with Anthony. Christine said that he “always knew when to storm in… with somebody who couldn’t protect themselves.”

Amy died in the early hours of New Year’s Day. According to an Alaska State Troopers (AST) affidavit supporting their criminal complaint, there were two calls to 911 from the household that morning, one from Amy at about 2:30 a.m. and the second from Anthony approximately at 4:54 a.m. AST stated that while Anthony was being interviewed, medics attempted to revive Amy. She was pronounced dead around 5:33 a.m. AST visited the couple’s residence twice in December, 2017- once on the 4th and again on the 24th to conduct “welfare checks” because Amy’s family was concerned about her safety. Christine said it was actually three times but one wasn’t reported. She said that Amy actually called her on New Year’s Eve, saying Anthony was angry because he wanted to go to a New Year’s Eve party and wanted to use her car. He threw a bottle at Amy, according to Christine.

“I said, ‘Amy, pack your things and come into town,’ ” Christine said.

According to court records, the initial autopsy report revealed that she perished due to “homicide by strangulation” while Anthony, according to court records, claimed she “fell down the stairs.” Investigators present at the medical examination did not see any indication of head trauma and noted what looked to be hemorrhages caused by asphyxiation. In the AST affidavit, only one vehicle was on the property when they arrived — Amy’s 2002 Ford Mustang. It was filled with what they observed to be personal luggage, “packed full” and the “only space in the vehicle that didn’t contain items was the driver’s seat.”

Amy’s parents are making a lot of conscious effort to not let this tragedy get in the way of living their lives.

Ed and Christine’s pastor shared a quote with them, which Ed said has helped them a lot during this process: “You cannot control the wind but you can trim your sails.”

Anthony will return to court for a pretrial conference on February 22, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. with bail set at $250,000 and a court-appointed third party custodian required for his release.