John Hartman
Read John Hartman's Obituary

The teenager’s brutal 1997 murder shocked Fairbanks. Four young men are serving decades for the crime. Yet, 10 years later, questions remain about the Hartman verdicts. Was justice served? This series presents the results of a six-year, independent investigation by a University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism professor and his students. The Daily News-Miner provided financial and editing support for this project.

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CONTENT WARNING: This series and the accompanying documents and multimedia presentations contain vulgar language and references to violent acts that may be objectionable to some readers and that parents may find inappropriate for their children.

The Convicted

George Frese

Kevin Pease

Marvin Roberts

Eugene Vent

Part One: Decade of Doubt

A decade later John Hartman’s murder remains divisive

More than a decade after John Hartman's murder, Alaska courts still wrestle with the case. Court reviews and appeals, based largely on procedural issues, have worked their way up to the Alaska Supreme Court. But larger questions about the integrity of the Fairbanks' legal system trouble Alaska Natives tied by family and heritage to three of the convicted men.

Same streets, different lanes

John Hartman, Marvin Roberts and Arlo Olson — three young men embracing adult freedoms. All were about to collide through a life-shattering crime — the first, murdered for no apparent cause; the second, jailed and convicted with three others in the slaying; the third, destined for the misery that dogs the life of a reputed snitch.

Part Two: A Cry in the Night

A cry in the night

“Man down” was the description given the city ambulance crew. When they arrived at the corner of Ninth and Barnette, they found 15-year-old John Hartman lying on the curb, battered and unconscious.

Part Three: Wild Night Downtown

A wild night downtown culminates in fatal beating

It was Alaska Permanent Fund dividend time. The $1,296 being paid to qualifying Alaskans turbo-charged downtown Fairbanks. As usual, the money drew shoppers into Fairbanks from surrounding villages. The windfall unleashed a surge of disturbances associated with free spending and substance abuse. Fairbanks' police force were swamped with reports of robbery and assault and stretched thin dealing with all the activity downtown.

Part Four: Cased Solved?

Case solved through confessions

Less then 24 hours after Hartman had been left for dead on the side of the road, Eugene Vent, under intense interrogation, confessed to the crime. He incriminated himself and three former basketball teammates — George Frese, Kevin Pease and Marvin Roberts. Shortly, police also got a confession from Frese. Since then, both have recanted, claiming their confessions were false.

Lessons from DNA

Why credit claims of innocence from inmates who have confessed? Science now provides a three-letter answer: DNA.

A guide to interrogating

The nation’s leading interrogation technique has two stages: a non-accusatory assessment of the suspect’s probable guilt, followed by hard-edged, psychological grilling structured to elicit truthful confessions.

Part Five: No Physical Evidence

Where the crime lab wouldn’t go

Police investigators had no physical evidence linking the four accused youth to the crime scene. However, some saw a match between the distinct bruises on Hartman's face and the tread of a boot taken from George Frese's house. At trial, the prosecution held up the similarities as proof of Frese's involvement. Other forensic scientists have called the evidence "corrupt."

Part Six: "110 Percent Certain"

Arlo Olson: ‘Half shot’ yet ‘110 percent’ certain

There are no known witnesses to Hartman's fatal beating, but Arlo Olson claimed to have seen the four convicted youth attack another man earlier in the night. Even though Olson, who had been drinking heavily that night, was 550 feet away from the alleged attack, jurors believed his testimony over another woman, who had not been drinking, who provided Marvin Roberts a solid alibi.

A musical alibi

Marvin Roberts’ claimed alibi rests upon observers who recall him dancing at the Eagles Hall at the approximate time John Hartman suffered his fatal assault. But was anyone dancing during those fateful minutes? According to the prosecution’s final pair of witnesses, the band was on break when a 911 caller reported an unrelated robbery near the Eagles.

Part Seven: Similar Case, Much Doubt

Chris Stone: “The fearful friend”

According to his own court-room testimony, Christopher Stone was with Hartman minutes before the fatal beating. The two had spent most of the day together; the two were close friends. But Stone's exact role is still a mystery.

Mystery of the missing pants

John Hartman was wearing someone else's blue corduroys when he was found unconscious on the street. Yet friends and family recalled Hartman sporting his camouflage pants and a matching jacket earlier that day. The apparent discrepancy went unnoticed for more than a year. Conflicting claims echoed through a series of trials.

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