The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Man arrested in connection with Kenai killing

The Kenai Police Department received a report of a shooting on California Street

A 28-year-old Kenai man has been arrested on a murder charge following the death of a woman whose body was found in Kenai on Thursday morning.

The Kenai Police Department at around 4 a.m. on Nov. 17 received a report of a shooting on California Street, with witnesses also reporting seeing a vehicle leaving the scene, according to a Thursday Kenai police dispatch. As officers responded, police reported, they encountered a vehicle matching descriptions that was leaving the area with no lights on.

An attempted traffic stop on the vehicle by Kenai police officers escalated into a pursuit, the dispatch said. Alaska State Troopers and the Soldotna Police Department assisted in the pursuit.

Police eventually stopped and took into custody 28-year-old Kevin Lee Park of Kenai in connection with the incident, police said.

As of around 11:45 a.m. Thursday, the Kenai Police Department was still working to identify the deceased female victim, who was located on California Street. The woman was eventually identified as 31-year-old Stephanie Henson, also of Kenai.

Park was taken to Wildwood Pre-Trial Facility on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree tampering with physical evidence and first-degree failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer.

The case is still under investigation.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

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