Editor’s note: An earlier version of a story published on Oct. 7 incorrectly state that Latina Helfinstine was taken to Providence Medical Center. She was taken to the Alaska Native Medical Center. It has been updated to reflect the correct information.
Juneau Police Department offered new details related to the arrest of a Juneau man accused of killing a woman in late November 2019.
William Robert Warden, 36, was arrested Friday and charged with the two counts of second-degree murder and one count of manslaughter for the 2019 death of Latina Dawn Helfinstine, 36, said JPD Lt. Krag Campbell.
At 6:47 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2019, Warden called JPD, saying Helfinstine was having a seizure and had hit her head in their apartment on the 300 block of Fourth Street downtown, Campbell said. Capital City Fire/Rescue transported her to Bartlett Regional Hospital where her injuries, including a skull fracture, were pronounced critical, and she was medevaced to the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She died there on Nov. 29, 2019, Campbell said.
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JPD began an investigation into the cause of the injuries shortly after Helfinstine was admitted to Bartlett Regional Hospital, Campbell said. When Helfinstine was pronounced deceased, it became a death investigation.
In the course of that investigation, detectives learned information that led them to believe the cause of death might have been a homicide. An investigation lasting nearly a year led to a grand jury hearing the evidence on Oct. 1 and indicting Warden, Campbell said.
A warrant was issued and Warden was arrested without incident at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 at a residence on the 700 block of West Willoughby Avenue.
He was taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center and held on $50,000 bail.
A trial date is scheduled for January.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
