A Fairbanks man is accused of shooting his 87-year-old grandmother in the back of the head as she sat in her wheelchair Tuesday afternoon at a home on 22nd Avenue, then telling investigators he acted like he was “pulling the plug,” according to police and court records.
Authorities identified the victim as Velma Koontz and the suspect as her grandson, Brian J. Davenport, 29. Detectives say Davenport admitted after his arrest that he stole his grandfather’s handgun and fired once, killing Koontz inside the home she shared with family members. The case has drawn close attention in Alaska’s Interior both for its intimate setting and for statements attributed to Davenport about his motive. Police say Koontz had cancer and was receiving hospice care. A judge ordered Davenport held on a $5 million bond as state prosecutors file a first-degree murder charge while investigators finalize a timeline.
Police say the sequence began shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday. Koontz’s husband told officers he returned from a store run to find his firearm outside the residence and his wife dead in her wheelchair inside. Officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of 22nd Avenue at about 3:45 p.m. and found Koontz with a wound to the back of her head. Less than an hour earlier, dispatchers had received a 911 call from Davenport’s phone that ended without answers. An officer who located Davenport nearby described him as pacing close to traffic and brought him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for safety. After news of the death reached investigators, the officer questioned Davenport, who “immediately stated that he had killed someone,” according to a sworn affidavit. “Any time a human life is taken it’s a tragedy,” Fairbanks Police Chief Ron Dupee said in an interview this week.
Detectives say Davenport waived his rights and gave a recorded interview. In that account, he said he initially planned to kill someone else but changed his mind and shot his grandmother instead. He allegedly told investigators he knew killing was wrong yet compared the act to ending life support, adding that he wanted Koontz to die “peacefully” and that he “didn’t want her to worry about the legacy she left behind.” Charging papers note that Koontz was in hospice care for cancer. The documents also outline times drawn from calls, officer contacts and the husband’s shopping trip, placing the fatal shot sometime between the 911 call and the husband’s return home. No other injuries were reported at the scene. Police have not alleged that anyone else was involved.
Relatives sat through Davenport’s first court appearance via livestream Wednesday. A son of the victim told the judge that Davenport had a history of not taking prescribed medication and urged that he remain in custody, calling him “a danger to the public.” Records reviewed in open court describe evidence expected to be central to the case: the recovered handgun, ballistic examination results, and the interview in which Davenport details his decision and statements about “pulling the plug.” A separate sworn affidavit lists the initial 911 hang-up tied to Davenport’s phone, the officer’s contact with him on the roadside, and the moment the officer learned of the homicide while Davenport was at the hospital.
The killing rattled a residential strip of 22nd Avenue, where small homes sit near bus routes and neighborhood businesses. Neighbors who asked not to be named said police vehicles lined the block as officers and crime-scene technicians moved in and out of the house for hours. A resident a few doors down described seeing evidence markers near the front walkway. Another recalled the sight of a wheelchair through the doorway as detectives photographed rooms inside. The chief said he believed the community was “suffering” and offered condolences to family and friends, noting that investigators were working to answer outstanding questions on motive and exact timing.
Koontz’s death adds to a small but searing subset of intrafamily homicides in Alaska, where prosecutors periodically file charges in cases involving elders and caregivers. Court filings in such cases often draw on medical histories, caregiving arrangements and mental-health records to explain why violence erupted in a domestic setting. In this case, police noted Koontz’s hospice status but did not describe any prior threats from Davenport toward her. Relatives in court referenced a separate incident last summer involving Davenport and his mother; the judge did not address those remarks beyond acknowledging the family’s safety concerns. Public records list Koontz as a longtime Fairbanks resident known to friends for her baking and holiday gatherings, according to neighbors interviewed near the block.
On the legal track, prosecutors charged Davenport with first-degree murder, a count that alleges he intended to cause death. He was booked into the Fairbanks Correctional Center. A magistrate set bond at $5 million and scheduled the case for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 30, when a judge will decide whether there is probable cause to move forward to the grand jury or superior court. Prosecutors typically order ballistics, DNA and fingerprint analysis on recovered firearms and seek phone records and home surveillance to refine the timeline. Defense attorneys from the Public Defender Agency were appointed and did not comment in court on the allegations beyond noting Davenport’s right to counsel and to remain silent going forward.
Investigators are building a minute-by-minute chronology from dispatch logs, the 911 call, the roadside contact and interviews. Detectives will compare statements with physical findings inside the home and with autopsy results from the medical examiner. If additional witnesses surface—such as shoppers who saw the husband before he returned or drivers who noticed Davenport near the roadway—those accounts will be folded into the file. Police said they have not announced any search for additional suspects and that no wider threat to the neighborhood is suspected. Officials described the handgun as belonging to Koontz’s husband and said it had been left outside the home by the time he returned.
On 22nd Avenue the day after the killing, the block was quiet aside from passing cars and an occasional dog walker. A neighbor stepped out to collect mail and paused at the sight of news vehicles. “It’s just heartbreaking,” she said, declining to give her name. A man who lives around the corner said he didn’t know the family well but often saw a wheelchair by the window. “You never expect to hear something like that this close,” he said. At a nearby grocery store, a cashier said the talk among morning regulars was of shock and prayer lists; she remembered seeing officers head past the checkout lanes earlier in the week.
As of Friday, Davenport remained jailed pending the next court date. Police said additional details could be released after laboratory work and the medical examiner’s report are complete. The case file is expected to grow with transcripts and recordings from Davenport’s interview, forensic results on the handgun, and any digital evidence from phones or home devices. The first milestone ahead is the Jan. 30 preliminary hearing, when a judge will decide the case’s next step.
Author note: Last updated January 23, 2026.