Two Palmer men charged in death of 26-year-old

Two Palmer men have been charged with homicide in the death of 26-year old Jeremie Speaker of Anchorage.

According to Alaska State Troopers (AST), 38-year old Robert Barker and 35-year old Joed Weyand were arrested late afternoon Tuesday inside a downtown Palmer hotel. Troopers were called to mile 4.8 of Knik River Road around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon and discovered a body, later identified as Speaker following an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner's office.

AST reported during the initial investigation, two burned vehicles were found near the body. Both have been impounded for investigative purposes to determine if and how they are connected to the deceased, police stated. The arrests were a result of a coordinated investigative effort from Palmer-based Alaska Bureau of Investigation (ABI), AST Special Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU), along with crime scene technicians from ABI's scientific crime detection laboratory.

According to reports, police conferred with the Palmer district attorney's office before making the arrests. Both were charged with first-degree murder and remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial Facility with no bail.