Left: Kirby Calderwood. Right: Anesha “Duffy” Murnane (Homer Police Department).
In a chilling case that has shocked the residents of Homer, Alaska, a man has confessed to the murder of a woman he met while working at an assisted living facility. Kirby Calderwood, 36, has admitted to the second-degree murder of 38-year-old Anesha “Duffy” Murnane and concealing her body in a crawl space of his girlfriend’s home. Disturbingly, Calderwood kept a personal item from his victim as a gruesome memento.
Calderwood’s guilty plea comes as part of a deal with prosecutors, who in turn dropped multiple other charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault. This information was reported by KBBI, an NPR affiliate based in Homer, approximately 220 miles southeast of Anchorage.
The case initially began in October 2019 when Murnane, who lived at Main Tree Housing and struggled with bipolar disorder, vanished without a trace. Her disappearance left the tight-knit community on the Kenai Peninsula in distress, prompting extensive searches involving local law enforcement, firefighters, and volunteers. Despite their efforts, Murnane’s body was never found.
The break in the case came in 2022 through a Crime Stoppers tip, pointing to Calderwood as the perpetrator. Investigators discovered that Calderwood had been employed at the facility where Murnane resided in 2018. Further evidence came from his wife, who revealed that Calderwood confessed to committing the murder in the crawl space of his then-girlfriend’s house before relocating to Utah.
Following these revelations, authorities examined the crawl space and confirmed the presence of Murnane’s DNA. In Utah, police executed several search warrants, leading to a significant find during a search of Calderwood’s home. There, among his belongings, they discovered a small ladies’ Timex watch with a black band—an item identified as belonging to Murnane, effectively tying him to the crime. This development was reported by KTUU, an NBC affiliate in Anchorage.
Police in Ogden, Utah, executed several search warrants. During one of those searches, at Calderwood’s home, “a small ladies Timex watch with a black band was found in Calderwood’s clothes dresser drawer,” according to affidavits filed in the case obtained by Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU
“Calderwood kept Murnane’s wristwatch, that would light up when a button on the side was pushed, and that it may have been a Timex,” the affidavit quotes the anonymous tip as alleging. “Photos of Murnane show a small black watch.”
“This exactly matches the watch the Kenai Crime Stoppers TIPS caller had described and Murnane’s mother and stepfather had described,” the affidavit reportedly states. “Additionally, a missing-person flyer was found next to the same dresser.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Calderwood allegedly told investigator Matt Haney that he knew Murnane when he worked at the facility.
Over the course of the investigation, the Homer Police Department says it fielded hundreds of tips. Eventually, however, one of those tips named Calderwood specifically and, according to police, included details that allowed investigators to hone in on their suspect.
In an affidavit filed by Haney, who was hired by the Homer Police Department, two women previously involved in romantic relationships with the defendant said that Calderwood had committed sexual violence against them — including rape. Those allegations were said to have been made to the U.S. Army. It is unclear what action, if any, the armed forces agency took in response to those claims. One of those women said Calderwood had admitted to hurting animals since he was a child. The affidavit also cites other women who made similar claims about the defendant’s alleged sexual violence and disturbing behavior.
“Calderwood has an extensive history of abusive violent sexual behavior towards women and fantasized about torturing and killing someone,” Haney reportedly alleged in that court document.
One tip mentioned in the affidavit clued investigators into specific details that were allegedly directly relevant to the Murnane case.
The affidavit reportedly goes on to say Calderwood told the tipster that he was driving around looking for his victim when he spotted her, picked her up in his blue Subaru, and brought her to the empty house. There, the defendant allegedly told his victim that he needed to get a phone charger from inside and that she could come in while he retrieved it. Murnane is said to have accepted the offer. She was subsequently tortured and killed, the affidavit says. Calderwood allegedly further admitted that he threw Murnane’s cellular phone in a lake before concealing her body and leaving it in a dumpster.
Calderwood is slated to be sentenced on July 1. The plea agreement calls for a 99-year prison sentence with 12 years suspended.
