The Department of Corrections informed the Alaska Bureau of Investigation of the death of one of their inmates at the Alaska Regional Hospital late Saturday afternoon. The investigation into the death of 74-year-old William J. Wilson of Anchorage was deemed death by natural causes.

Wilson had been incarcerated since his conviction for Murder II in 1995 in connection with the shooting death of his wife, Young Shin Wilson (Logan).

Wilson and his wife met while she worked at the American Legion Post in Anchorage in late April of 1995. After less than a month, they were married. By the first week of July, that same year, their very short marriage had failed. Just one week prior, the couple had moved to an apartment near Arctic Boulevard from their Cordova Street apartment that Wilson moved his wife into after their marriage. By July 8th, Young had requested a restraining order against her new husband, he moved back to the Cordova Street apartment.

Young spoke with the manager that day and asked to have the locks changed. The manager told Young that the locks could not be changed until July 10th, but switched locks out with Young’s apartment and his own.

On July 10th, the manager heard Mr. Wilson drive up early in the morning. The manager told police that Mr. Wilson walked up to the apartment, then walk back to his truck and leave. Mrs. Wilson called 911 to report that Mr. Wilson was at her door. The police dispatch told Mrs. Wilson to not answer the door and that a patrol car was on its way.

Moments later, the manager told police, Mr. Wilson returned to the apartment. He heard Wilson go up the stairs, heard the sounds of the door being kicked in, then the “pop” of gunfire. The manager called 911, as did Mr. Wilson. Wilson reported to police that he had shot and killed Mrs. Wilson. When asked why, Wilson said, “We had broke up, she kept arguing at me.”

Wilson also told the landlord that the firearm had discharged accidentally when they bumped into each other. He also told the landlord that he was very angry because he thought she was in the apartment with another man.

When police investigated the scene,  they found Mrs. Young on the floor of the apartment in a pool of blood “with a fatal bullet wound above and behind her right ear,” according to charging documents.

Wilson was indicted on July 20th, 1995, but his attorney moved to suppress his statements to the police and the indictment was dropped.

Wilson was re-indicted the following year on March 20th. Wilson also moved to have that indictment dismissed, but failed in his effort and he went to trial on May 1, 1996. That trial ended with a conviction of Murder II.

At sentencing, Wilson argued that the 45-year-sentenced was excessive, and that his sentence should have been no more 20-30 years. But, because he had previously had been earlier convicted of Felony Assault when he entered a residence in search of his former wife and held the people in the residence at gunpoint with a shotgun, until he determined that his wife was not there, the 45-year sentence stood.

Wilson’s next of kin were notified of Wilson’s death and the State Medical Examiner released Wilson’s remains to a funeral home.

  Alaska, death, deceased, department of corrections, inmate, logan, murder, natural causes, prison, william j. wilson, young shin wilson