Charles Meach

Mass Murderer

Charles L. Meach III - Russian Jack Springs Park Murders

Background and Early Criminal History

Charles Louman Meach III was born on October 1, 1947, in Traverse City, Michigan. He left home as a teenager and accumulated a record of arrests and minor offenses while drifting between different locations. By the early 1970s, he had reached Anchorage, Alaska, where his increasingly unstable behavior culminated in a fatal attack. In 1973, Meach encountered 22-year-old grocery clerk Robert Johnson in Anchorage. Meach beat and kicked Johnson to death, reportedly later telling investigators that he attacked him because he found Johnson's voice irritating. Mental-health specialists diagnosed Meach with paranoid schizophrenia. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Atascadero State Hospital in California rather than being sent to prison. Doctors eventually concluded that Meach's mental illness was in remission. In 1980, he was returned to Alaska and placed under the supervision of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. He was gradually allowed increased freedom, including day passes and employment outside the hospital. During 1981 and early 1982, he worked at several jobs and briefly attended the University of Alaska. Many people who encountered him were apparently not told about his previous homicide because medical privacy laws restricted the information the hospital could release.

The Events of May 3, 1982

On the evening of May 3, 1982, four teenage friends gathered near a tent in the wooded northern section of Russian Jack Springs Park in Anchorage. The group consisted of Joseph Dean Kimler, Vern Jay Sylvester, Sabrina Lynn Imlach and Rebecca Dawn Phillips. Contemporary reports indicated that the teenagers were celebrating Imlach's birthday and intended to go to a movie. Meach had been drinking and was away from the psychiatric institute under a limited-release arrangement. According to his later confession, he had become upset after discovering that one of his favorite shirts had been stolen. He decided to steal something from someone else and remembered seeing cassette tapes inside a tent at Russian Jack Springs Park. Meach had obtained a revolver from a man on the street and had hidden the weapon. He retrieved the gun, traveled to the park on a recently purchased blue bicycle and approached the teenagers' campsite. He began preparing to search the tent for cassette tapes but was discovered by Joseph Kimler. Meach initially concealed the weapon. When Kimler turned away, Meach shot him in the back of the head. Vern Sylvester approached after hearing or noticing the disturbance, and Meach also shot him in the head. Sabrina Imlach and Rebecca Phillips arrived near the tent and encountered the gunman. Meach shot both girls in the head as they attempted to react or escape. The victims were found at different points within the wooded area. Some were discovered near the tent, while others were located farther away, suggesting that members of the group had tried to flee. Two of the teenagers were pronounced dead at the scene. The other two were transported for emergency medical treatment but died from their injuries within hours.

Victims of the May 3, 1982 Murders

• Joseph Dean Kimler, 19 - Killed on May 3, 1982, near the group's tent in Russian Jack Springs Park, Anchorage, Alaska. Meach said that he shot Kimler after Kimler discovered him attempting to steal cassette tapes.
• Vern Jay Sylvester, 19 - Killed on May 3, 1982, in Russian Jack Springs Park, Anchorage, Alaska. Sylvester approached after the first shooting and was shot in the head.
• Sabrina Lynn Imlach, 16 - Killed on May 3, 1982, in Russian Jack Springs Park, Anchorage, Alaska. She was celebrating her approaching seventeenth birthday with her friends when the attack occurred.
• Rebecca Dawn Phillips, 16 - Killed on May 3, 1982, in Russian Jack Springs Park, Anchorage, Alaska. She encountered Meach near the campsite and was fatally shot in the head.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Joseph Dean Kimler 19 yr old Male

Charles L. Meach