Ashlee Spann, a 34-year-old female was shot and killed in the early morning hours of November 22, 2025, at an apartment on Vassar Circle in Fairbanks, Alaska, after Alaska State Troopers received reports of a disturbance and gunfire at the residence. Troopers were called around 2 a.m. to the West Fairbanks neighborhood near Amherst Drive and Chena Pump Road, where they found Spann deceased inside the home and immediately opened a homicide investigation. The shooting quickly drew attention as one of several violent incidents reported in the Fairbanks area over the same weekend, contributing to growing concern about rising gun violence in the region.
According to an Alaska Department of Public Safety dispatch and subsequent news reports, the confrontation began when 27-year-old Brooklyn Whitman of Anchorage went to the Vassar Circle residence where Spann was present. A preliminary investigation indicates that an argument broke out between the two inside the apartment; during that dispute, Whitman allegedly produced a firearm and shot Spann before leaving the scene. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots and commotion, which prompted the calls to authorities that brought troopers to the location in the middle of the night.
Investigators from the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation quickly identified Whitman as the suspect. Troopers say she fled the apartment after the shooting but was tracked down later that same day and arrested without incident. She was remanded to the Fairbanks Correctional Center on one count of first-degree murder and a count of misconduct involving weapons, charges that were echoed in both the official dispatch and local coverage. Court records cited in news reports note that Whitman was arraigned over the weekend and that a further hearing is scheduled for December 2, 2025, as the case proceeds through the judicial system. Authorities have not publicly named any additional suspects in Spann’s killing, and there have been no announcements suggesting that anyone other than Whitman is being sought in connection with the homicide.
Spann’s death is one of several high-profile violent crimes currently under investigation in and around Fairbanks, prompting state officials to devote extra resources to the area. At a November 24 press availability, Alaska Bureau of Investigation commander Capt. Tony Wegrzyn described a “surge” of investigators being sent to Fairbanks to focus on four recent firearm-related cases, specifically including the shooting that claimed Spann’s life. Officials have emphasized that, while there is no evidence the separate cases are directly connected, they are treating each one — including the Vassar Circle homicide — as a top priority and continue to ask community members to share any information that might help clarify what led up to the fatal argument and shooting inside Spann’s apartment.
