This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
The man accused of abducting and killing a missing Homer woman will be extradited to Alaska after he finishes serving a jail sentence on Utah charges.
According to online court records, Kirby Calderwood, 32, of Ogden, Utah, pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to possession of a firearm by a restricted person, violation of a protective order, three counts of unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, and possession of a controlled substance. A charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed and the first charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.
An email alert from an online victim’s notification service, www.vinelink.com, wrote that he will be released on Nov. 19. Court records dated Oct. 5 related to his guilty plea ordered the Weber County, Utah, Sheriff to hold Calderwood for 45 days.
A fugitive from justice charge also was filed against Calderwood. According to online Utah court records, Calderwood filed a waiver of extradition on Oct. 6 related to that charge.
Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said Calderwood did not contest extradition to Alaska and will be transported here after he serves his Utah prison time. Robl said U.S. Marshals usually transport prisoners over state lines. Homer Police had contacted U.S. Marshals in May regarding apprehending Calderwood.
In September, the Kenai Grand Jury charged Calderwood with first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault, manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, a Homer woman who went missing in October 2019. All but the manslaughter and evidence tampering charges are unclassified felonies. If convicted of first-degree murder, Calderwood could face from 20 to 99 years in prison.
Calderwood has remained in custody at the Weber County, Utah, Correctional Facility since he was arrested on May 3 by Ogden Police. Bail was set at $1 million cash only. Calderwood has not yet been arraigned on the Alaska charges.
According to a probable cause affidavit by Ogden Police, on May 3, a Homer Police investigator went to Utah and contacted Ogden Police for assistance in the Murnane case. Ogden Police helped Homer Police draft and serve more than 10 search warrants. As part of that investigation, Ogden Police made a traffic stop on a van driven by Calderwood. Ogden Police saw a rifle case in the van and got a warrant to search the van. They found a black powder rifle and a 22. caliber rifle.
Calderwood had an active domestic violence protective order against him from December 2021 that prohibited him from possessing firearms. Ogden Police searched Calderwood’s home and said they found drugs suspected to be marijuana as well as large knives and a machete with dried blood. They arrested him on the firearms and drug charges as well as the Homer warrant.
The Kenai Grand Jury indictment followed the filing of charging documents on May 7 by Homer Police alleging that Calderwood abducted Murnane on Oct. 17, 2019, while she walked on Pioneer Avenue from her MainTree Housing apartment to a doctor’s appointment, and that he took her to an unoccupied Homer home where he sexually assaulted and hurt Murnane before killing her. Calderwood later left Alaska and moved to Utah.
After Murnane went missing, police continued their investigation into her disappearance. Homer Police did an air search and brought in search dogs. The dogs tracked Murnane’s scent to Pioneer Avenue near the Kachemak Bay Campus, where the dogs lost the scent — an indication she had been picked up in a car there. Cellphone records showed her phone was either turned off or the battery quit working at 12:23 p.m. Oct. 17.
Volunteers started searches on Oct. 19 after she was reported missing, and continued them throughout that fall and winter. Family and friends have held periodic vigils and remembrances for Murnane since her disappearance. Homer Police hired Matt Haney, a former Homer Police officer with experience in missing and murdered persons investigations, to be a special investigator.
Haney had identified Calderwood as a person of interest in May of 2021. Calderwood had worked at MainTree Housing, a supported housing complex run by South Peninsula Behavioral Services, and knew Murnane from there. Calderwood passed criminal background checks before he was hired.
Murnane was declared dead June 17, 2021, in a presumptive death jury hearing. The jury determined that she most likely died by homicide.
According to online Alaska court records, Calderwood is represented by attorney Michael Moberly. At press time, Moberly did not return a phone message seeking comment on his client’s extradition. Calderwood has not yet entered a plea on the Alaska charges and no trial date has been set.
“It could take years for this case to come to trial,” Robl said. “People need to know the process can take a long time to play out. It will play out, and he (Calderwood) will be brought to justice for his crimes.”
Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.
A photo of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, missing since Oct. 17, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. Kirby Calderwood, 32, of Ogden, Utah, is charged in the murder and kidnapping of Murnane. (Photo provided, Homer Police Department) A photo of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, missing since Oct. 17, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. Kirby Calderwood, 32, of Ogden, Utah, is charged in the murder and kidnapping of Murnane. (Photo provided, Homer Police Department)
