FAIRBANKS, AK – A 29-year-old Alaska man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting his 87-year-old grandmother in the back of the head while she sat in her wheelchair.
Brian Davenport was arrested earlier this week in the death of Velma Koontz at her Fairbanks home. He’s being held on $5 million bail.
According to investigators, Davenport stole a handgun belonging to his grandfather and used it to shoot Koontz while she was seated in her wheelchair. The victim’s husband discovered the weapon lying outside their home when he returned from the store, then found his wife dead inside.
Less than an hour before the shooting, Davenport had called 911 but refused to respond when the dispatcher answered. An officer located him pacing in the roadway and took him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital because he was displaying “careless behavior.”
When police later informed Davenport about his grandmother’s death, he admitted to the killing.
“I killed someone,” he told investigators, according to court documents.
During his interrogation, Davenport offered a disturbing explanation for his actions. He told police he wanted his grandmother to die peacefully, comparing the shooting to “pulling the plug” on someone.
Koontz was in hospice care and had been battling cancer at the time of her death. Despite her terminal condition, authorities say Davenport had no legal right to take her life.
The case has shaken the Fairbanks community, with many struggling to understand how a grandson could commit such an act against his own grandmother. Davenport remains in custody awaiting his next court appearance.
