Man found guilty in decades' old Seward murderPublished on March 11th, 2010 By ALASKA NEWSPAPERS STAFF
Last week a Kenai jury found 56-year-old Fairbanks resident Jimmy Lee Eacker guilty for one count of murder in the first degree, a news release from the Alaska State Troopers said. The conviction relates to the March 6, 1982, murder of Toni Lister of Seward. Lister was 29 at the time of the murder. The trial against Eacker lasted multiple weeks. On March 6, 1982, Calvin Lister reported to the Seward Police Department that his wife of nine months, Toni Lister, did not return home after drinking at the local bars with several friends. On April 17, 1982, Toni Lister's body was found in a wooded area near the Seward City Dump. An autopsy revealed Lister had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck with a Phillips screwdriver. Police conducted an extensive investigation. Despite its efforts, no one was charged or prosecuted for Toni Lister's death. In August 2006, police requested the assistance of the Alaska State Troopers Cold Case Unit to help solve the two-decade-old murder. After reviewing the case, Jimmy Lee Eacker was developed as a person of interest. The cold case investigators requested that Seward police submit items to the state's Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory for testing to assist in the investigation. A year later, the cold case unit had gathered evidence for a strong case against Eacker. On Aug. 31, 2007, a Kenai grand jury indicted him for one count of murder in the first degree and one count of murder in the second degree. Less than a week following the indictment, Fairbanks-based state troopers and ABI investigators arrested Eacker for the murder of Toni Lister. He was remanded without incident on $250,000 bail at Fairbanks Correctional Center. Eacker's murder conviction closes the 27-year-long investigation. Alaska Newspapers Staff can be reached at editor@alaskanewspapers.com |
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The Seward Phoenix LOG is a publication of Alaska Newspapers, Inc. This article is © 2010 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Newspapers, Inc. makes no provisions for further distribution.