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A special unit created to investigate unsolved missing persons and murder cases of Indigenous people has solved the murder of a British Columbia man in Washington state nearly a decade ago.
65-year-old George David, a master carver owned by Tla-o-ki-aht First Nation from Vancouver Island, was found dead on March 28, 2016, while staying at a friend's apartment in Port Angeles.
The community is located in Washington state, south of Victoria, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
At the time, Port Angeles police identified Tina Marie Alcorn as a suspect but did not have enough evidence to charge her. But in 2024, the case was transferred to the new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Peoples (MMIWP) Cold Case Unit, created by the Washington State Legislature in 2023.
The MMIWP Cold Case Investigation Team was formed in response to the work of the task force, which found systemic problems leading to higher than average rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people across the state, and operates through the state Attorney General's Office. This is one of several measures taken by the state, including creation of an emergency notification system for missing indigenous peoples.
Working with Port Angeles police, a new cold case team was able to obtain new evidence that led to Alcorn's arrest in June 2025, leading to her sentencing after pleading guilty to David's murder on December 15.
She was sentenced to 13 years in prison for second-degree murder and for being armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the crime, according to the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
According to the department, this is the first sentence for the new unit.
The Prosecutor General's Office also provided a statement from David's daughter, Maria David, reacting to the news.
“My father was a master carver,” she said in a statement.
“I only have unfinished carvings that will never become puppets and tell their stories. Indian artwork is a way for us to tell our stories. And his stories can no longer be told, and we will never be able to see my father's work again. Silver engraving, masks, totem poles, rattles, engravings. Now everyone is silent. I am grateful to the Attorney General’s Office and the Cold Case Unit for their work.”
The office says David's work is exhibited around the world, including collections in Norway, Japan and Washington state.
