HOOPER BAY, Alaska-On Saturday, at about 10:40 am, Alaska State troopers received a report from the Hooper Public Safety office stating that they had been called to a residence for a unresponsive child and a man who had a knife in his chest.
The Hooper Bay Public Safety had been called by the 3-month-old child’s mother. The man with the stab wound to his chest was the child’s father. Beth Ipsen, a spokesperson for the Alaska State troopers, identified the man as Michael Kuphaldt, age 33. The home where the incident occurred was not the woman’s residence.
Alaska State troopers responded to Hooper Bay to conduct an investigation. Their initial investigation showed that the adult male, Kuphaldt, had stabbed himself with the knife. He was flown to Anchorage to the Alaska Native Medical Center for treatment of his self-inflicted wound.
The baby was confirmed dead at the scene. The investigation at the scene was unable to determine the cause of death. The child’s body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy.
Troopers report that alcohol and narcotics were found at the scene and that they were a contributing factor in the death of the baby. Investigation of court records shows that Kuphardt has a lengthy history in the court system with many violent charges on the books. As recently as last month, Kuphardt has had brushes with law on assault charges, the second such set of charges this year.
The trooper’s investigation will continue.
Hooper Bay, a Western Alaska community, is located on the Bering Sea coast. It lies 20 miles from Cape Romanzof and 25 miles south of Scammon Bay. The town has a population of approximately 2,000. Hooper Bay is a damp village, where importation and sale is illegal, but consuming it in the village is not.