An Alaska Native man, Lynn Maillelle, age 59, was found dead in the early hours of November 28, 2022, in the Yukon River village of Anvik, Alaska. Around 3:35 a.m., Alaska State Troopers were notified that the 59-year-old male from Anvik had been shot and was deceased. Investigators from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation flew in and began working the scene that morning, opening a homicide case and canvassing for witnesses as the community woke to the news.
By that afternoon, the preliminary investigation had focused on events at the home of a 63-year-old local man, Hugh Demoski. Troopers determined the shooting occurred inside the Demoski residence. While they did not disclose a motive, they reported that alcohol appeared to be a factor. Demoski was arrested, transported to Bethel, and remanded to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Misconduct Involving Weapons in the Fourth Degree; authorities emphasized that the investigation remained active.
News of Lynn Maillelle's death spread quickly beyond Anvik. A brief memorial page recorded that the 59-year-old male was “lost to gun violence” on November 28, 2022, in Anvik, and community members began leaving remembrances. An obituary notice announced funeral services for December 5, 2022, at Legacy Heritage Chapel at Angelus in Anchorage, with burial to follow in Grayling at a later date, marking a quiet farewell for the 59-year-old male whose life and roots were tied to the lower Yukon.
In the aftermath, troopers publicly stated only what they could confirm: that one person had been taken into custody in connection with the killing of the 59-year-old male, that no motive had been released, and that detectives were continuing to work the case. No further official updates expanding on the arrest, charging decisions beyond the initial counts, or court outcomes were issued in the immediate weeks that followed, leaving the record at the point of arrest and the community with unanswered questions.
