Coast Guardsman charged with murder of seaman in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Coast Guardsman is charged with murdering a 19-year-old seaman who was found dead along the shore of an Alaska island.
The Coast Guard says 19-year-old Ethan Tucker was charged Wednesday with seven violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Charges include murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Ethan Kelch of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Tucker, who is from Ludington, Michigan, is in custody in San Diego.
Kelch was found dead Jan. 27 along the shore of an island when their ship, the Munro, was docked in nearby Dutch Harbor. The charging document says he died of blunt force trauma to the head.
The charges say Tucker lied when he said he injured his hand by punching a steel bulkhead after learning of Kelch’s death.
