Seward homicide victim was lured, beaten, police say
By DAN JOLING
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Police in Seward say a man found dead last summer was lured to a remote location and beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Five people are charged with first-degree murder and in the death of 21-year-old Preston Atwood.
Atwood disappeared Aug. 25 and was last seen at a beach across Resurrection Bay from Seward.
Police were led to his body four days later along a power line trail 9 miles north of Seward.
One of the men charged says they believed Atwood had sexually abused young women and they wanted to confront him.
Police say a 19-year-old suspect contacted Atwood, said she wanted to hang out with him and drove him to the beach.
Police say Atwood smoked marijuana with the group and afterward was killed.