Alaska man tied to girl’s death pleads not guilty
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska man linked to a 10-year-old girl’s death through her cellphone pleaded not guilty Friday to lying to federal authorities investigating the case.
After entering his plea in U.S. District Court in Anchorage through an assistant public defender, Peter Wilson was scheduled for a Nov. 19 jury trial. Wilson, 41, is charged with making false statements to the FBI and others as they searched for Ashley Johnson-Barr in Kotzebue, a remote Inupiat town on Alaska’s northwestern coast 26 miles (42 kilometres) north of the Arctic Circle.
The girl disappeared Sept. 6, and her remains were found Sept. 14 in rugged tundra accessible only by a four-wheeler or on foot.
According to a federal grand jury indictment filed Thursday, Wilson took a cellphone away from Ashley and lied when he said he found it on the ground. The indictment also alleges Wilson lied about knowing Ashley and using a four-wheeler the day she vanished.