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October 1997

October 1997 was a whirlwind of activity as Fairbanks police investigated the murder of John Hartman. Explore more articles from the News-Miner's archives from the time:

Teen dies in hospital after downtown attack; police arrest four suspects

By Erin Lillie

Originally published October 13, 1997

Three young men and a male juvenile were arrested Sunday in connection with the death of 15-year-old John Hartman of Fairbanks, according to the Fairbanks Police Department.

Mugging may have preceded assault on teen

By Jolie Lewis

Originally published October 15, 1997

Fairbanks police investigating the beating death of a 15-year-old boy focused Tuesday on a mugging that they say might be related to the crime.

Suspects indicted on murder charges

Staff Report

Originally published October 17, 1997

Four young men were each indicted on two separate murder charges Thursday in connection with the beating death of 15-year-old John Hartman early Saturday morning.

Police reconstruct the night; a family grieves its lost son

By Al Slavin

Originally published October 19, 1997

John Hartman's mother wears the blue-colored hematite ring on her right index finger. Her son's girlfriend gave it to her Sunday evening.

Four plead innocent in beating death

By Jolie Lewis

Originally published October 22, 1997

Four young men accused in the beating death of John Hartman pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges of murder and sexual assault.

More charges filed against murder suspects

By Al Slavin

Originally published October 24, 1997

Four suspects charged in the beating death of a Fairbanks teen-ager were indicted on robbery charges Wednesday and another count of second-degree murder.

Legal Saga

Since their convictions, the four men accused of the fatal beating of John Hartman have tried in vain to get those convictions overturned. Presented here are selected articles from the News-Miner's archives covering the decade-long legal struggle.

Retrial denied in teen's death

By Tom Moran

Published November 3, 2001

A Superior Court Judge has denied a motion to overthrow the conviction of Marvin Roberts, one of the four men convicted of the murder of John Hartman. The decision by Nome Superior Court Judge Ben Esch comes six months after a public hearing was held in Fairbanks to hear evidence in the motion, which held that the discovery of a new witness and a recanting of testimony by another offered new evidence that would have affected the outcome of the trial had it been available at the time.

Defense questions juror, testimony in '97 slaying

By Brian O'Donoghue

Published July 11, 2002

A juror's private gripe about defense lawyers, suggestive photos and implausible eyewitness testimony were cited Wednesday by attorneys seeking new trials for Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease, two of four Fairbanks men now serving long prison sentences for a local teen-ager's fatal beating in October 1997. Dick Madson, a semi-retired Fairbanks attorney who describes Roberts as his final client, told members of the three-judge appeals panel sitting in Boney Courthouse in Anchorage that they simply cannot overlook a trial judge's failure to remove a juror who expressed disgust with the defense team's behavior during his client's 1999 trial.

Murder conviction upheld in teen's killing

By Tom Moran

Published September 22, 2002

The Alaska Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of two of the four men found guilty of the fatal beating of 15-year-old John Hartman five years ago. The three-person court re-examined the trial of Kevin Pease and Marvin Roberts on seven grounds, in each instance concluding that the court had not erred in handling the case with the exception of a minor question of restitution. "Our review of the record convinces us that reasonable jurors could have convicted Pease and Roberts of the charges in question," reads the ruling.

Appeals court upholds Frese convictions

By Dan Rice

Published October 24, 2002

The Alaska Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of a third man in the 1997 beating death of a 15-year-old Fairbanks boy and the assault of another man the same day. Legal counsel for George C. Frese, now 25, tried to argue on two grounds that Frese was wrongly convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, and second-degree assault, convictions that led to a 77-year prison sentence. In a decision released Wednesday, the three-judge panel rejected both arguments in Frese's appeal and ruled that Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Niesje Steinkruger did not err in handling the trial. The appeals court cited several decisions it made while upholding the convictions of Kevin Pease and Marvin Roberts, both now 24, last month.

Retrials sought in '97 slaying

By Dan Rice

Published April 1, 2003

Lawyers for two of the four men convicted of fatally beating Fairbanks teenager John Hartman in downtown Fairbanks in 1997 are seeking retrials based on new information that has surfaced in the case. An attorney for Kevin Pease, now 24, has recently filed a motion asking for a retrial because of a story in the March 2 News-Miner that quoted jurors in the 1999 trial as saying they conducted an unauthorized experiment before finding Pease and codefendant Marvin Roberts, now 25, guilty.

Three seek retrial in Hartman case

By Dan Rice

Published June 3, 2003

Three of the four men convicted of the 1997 murder of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman have now applied for retrials with the judges who originally handled their case. A lawyer representing Marvin Roberts, now 25, recently joined Kevin Pease, also 25, in asking for a retrial based on an unauthorized experiment apparently conducted by a jury during deliberations after the men were tried together.

Convicted murderer gets chance for retrial

By Beth Ipsen

Published June 19, 2003

The Court of Appeals has reversed a superior court judge's decision and has granted a Fairbanks man convicted of murdering a man in 1990 a chance for a retrial based on the ineffectiveness of his trial attorneys. At the same time, the three-judge panel denied Marvin Roberts, a man convicted of helping murder 15-year-old John Hartman in 1997, one of his requests for a retrial.

Hartman's mother granted $6.2 million in suit

By Dan Rice

Published September 23, 2003

A Fairbanks judge has granted the mother of a 15-year-old boy who was fatally beaten in 1997 more than $6.2 million for her wrongful death lawsuit against the four men convicted of the murder. Superior Court Judge Charles Pengilly granted default judgment in favor of Evalyn Thomas, mother of the late John Hartman, because none of the defendants showed up for an April trial to contest the lawsuit filed against them, court records indicated.

Frese loses appeal in bid for new trial

By Dan Rice

Published January 30, 2004

The Alaska Court of Appeals has rejected another appeal from one of the four men convicted in the 1997 beating death of a teenager in downtown Fairbanks. George Christopher Frese, now 24, had asked the appeals court to review a decision made by Superior Court Judge Niesje Steinkruger, who dismissed his motion asking for a new trial.

Judge: New trial in '97 beating death

By Dan Rice

Published August 18, 2004

A judge has granted a new trial for one of four men found guilty of participating in the 1997 high-profile beating death of teenager John Hartman in downtown Fairbanks. Kevin Pease, who was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges related to the death of Hartman, has a right to a new trial because of an unauthorized experiment conducted by the jury during deliberations, Nome Superior Court Judge Ben Esch ruled late Monday.

Court reinstates murder conviction in Hartman death

By Amanda Bohman

Published July 28, 2007

The Alaska Court of Appeals reinstated a murder conviction Friday relating to the beating death of 15-year-old John Hartman 10 years ago. A jury convicted Kevin Pease in 1999 of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault in connection with Hartman's death. Pease, now 29, received a 79-year prison sentence.

Court nixes convict's appeal for new murder trial

Staff Report

Published August 11, 2007

A 29-year-old Fairbanks man lost a chance to undo his murder conviction on Friday. The Alaska Court of Appeals decided that Marvin Roberts' request for a new trial is moot.

Supporters protest convictions of four men a decade after 15-year-old was brutally killed

By Chris Freiberg

Published October 13, 2007

Ten years ago this week, a young man by the name of John Hartman was beaten to death in downtown Fairbanks. The 15-year-old was kicked in the head more than a dozen times and sexually assaulted in a short, but brutal attack. Police could find no motive for the crime. They could only call it "random violence."

Vent's defense attorney in Hartman case blasted during Anchorage hearing

By Brian O'Donoghue/Special to the News-Miner

Published July 9, 2008

ANCHORAGE—A California false confession expert took the witness stand in an Anchorage courtroom Wednesday, arguing that one of the men convicted of John Hartman’s murder deserves a new trial. His appearance came nearly 10 years after he was blocked from explaining to jurors how his research shows police interrogations at times lead justice astray.

Expert says Vent deserves a new trial

By Brian O'Donoghue/Special to the News-Miner

Published July 10, 2008

ANCHORAGE — A California false confession expert took the witness stand in an Anchorage courtroom Wednesday to argue that one of the men convicted of John Hartman’s murder deserves a new trial.

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