Young Woman Self Exits W/ Gun Longer Than Arms In Mayor's Home - 2 Yrs Later Another Girl Is Dead

March 26, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In Kotzebue, Alaska—a remote Inupiaq community above the Arctic Circle where winter brings near-constant darkness and summer endless daylight—two Indigenous women died suspiciously in the home of former mayor Clement Richards Sr. Jennifer Kirk, 25, was found shot under the chin in 2018; Susanna "Susu" Norton, 30, was beaten and strangled there in 2020. Both shared the same birthday and died amid documented domestic violence by the mayor's sons, raising questions of police negligence and a culture of silence around violence against Indigenous women.

Kotzebue's Harsh Cycles and Hidden Pressures

Kotzebue experiences extreme light variations: winter offers as little as two hours of low-angle sunlight daily, contributing to "big dark"—a term for seasonal depression linked to disrupted melatonin and serotonin. Summer brings nearly 24-hour daylight. These conditions amplify isolation in a town closer to Russia than Anchorage, where 75% of residents are Inupiaq on historically stolen land. Amid high rates of violence—Indigenous women in Alaska face assault at 10 times the national average—cases like these expose systemic gaps in protection and investigation.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:01) **Kotzebue's Extreme Climate** - Host describes Arctic Circle town's endless light/dark cycles and seasonal depression impact
2 (04:14) **911 Call and Body Discovery** - Officers enter mayor's home, find kids watching TV, boyfriend Anthony blood-soaked holding Jennifer Kirk's body
3 (05:37) **Gun Length Mismatch** - Rifle measured 27.18 inches barrel-to-trigger, Jennifer's arm 26.1875 inches shorter
4 (06:46) **Strangulation Evidence Emerges** - Morgue reveals red neck markings and handprints before gunshot
5 (07:48) **Mayor Clement Richards Sr. Connection** - Anthony lives in father's powerful home; hints at second body two years later
6 (17:57) **Susu Norton's Death** - March 2020, another Inupiaq woman (30, shares Jennifer's birthday) found beaten/strangled in same house
7 (19:14) **Political Op Books and Power Dynamics** - Explains research dossiers on candidates, self-op books to preempt scandals

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Two officers from the Kotzebue, Alaska Police Department enter a living room and ask the two small children watching SpongeBob, “Did someone call the police?”

One just points to a bedroom door. Inside, a man, Anthony, cradles a young woman’s body drenched in blood. He says she’s his girlfriend, Jennifer. That he too, was just watching SpongeBob in the living room when he heard a ‘pop’ from the bedroom and found her with a ‘self-inflicted’ gun shot wound to her chin.

An investigation begins. The rifle used measures 27 and 1/8th inches long from barrel to trigger. Jennifer’s arm is 26 and 3/16th inches long. Nothing comes of it. The medical examiner observes red strangulation marks around Jennifer’s neck. The investigation is over within one day. Jennifer’s death is declared a self exit.

They don’t test for gunshot residue on the boyfriend, Anthony.

They don’t look into his past record of abuse and SA.

After all, Anthony lives with his father, Clement Richards Senior, the mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough. Surely this was a horrific one time tragic event…

Two years later another young woman’s body is found one again, at the mayor’s home.

Full show notes available at RottenMangoPodcast.com

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