The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

More details emerge in Kenai killing

The man accused of killing 31-year-old Stephanie Henson told police the two were friends, charging documents state

A Kenai man arrested on a murder charge Thursday admitted to shooting 31-year-old Stephanie Henson in the roadway on California Avenue earlier that day, according to charging documents.

Kenai Police Department Investigations Sgt. Ryan Coleman wrote in a Nov. 17 probable cause statement included with charging documents that on Thursday at around 4 a.m. the Kenai Police Department received reports of gunshots in the area of California Avenue and First Street, near Wildwood Correctional Complex.

A second caller, Coleman wrote, reported that he witnessed a person being shot in the roadway and that the suspect tried to load the person into a truck. The caller described the truck as a ‘90s model Chevy with a grill on the front and said the vehicle left the area heading toward Second Street.

As police officers responded to the scene, one officer saw a vehicle driving away from the area on N Forest Drive that matched the description provided by the witness and did not have any lights on. The officer tried to conduct a traffic stop, which escalated into a pursuit, before the driver ultimately stopped the truck after several miles, charging documents say.

Coleman wrote that 28-year-old Kevin Park, who was driving the truck, resisted arrest but was ultimately taken into custody. The truck was seized as evidence and towed to the Kenai Police Department. On Park’s person, charging documents say, was a handgun. Park also had blood on him, according to the documents.

Park was interviewed at Wildwood Pre-Trial Facility by an investigator who reported a “strong odor” of alcohol from Park. Per charging documents, Park told the investigator that he and Henson were friends and had spent the previous evening together. Park said that he and Henson visited a location that Coleman said Park would not disclose, where Park admitted to using meth. Park and Henson then traveled to the California Avenue area.

Coleman wrote that Park and Henson got into an argument and physical altercation and Park admitted to shooting Henson in the road on California Avenue. Park then told the investigator that he tried to put Henson in the truck to take her to the hospital, but fled the area after he was unable to load her in the vehicle.

A resident camera recording of the intersection of California Avenue and First Street was reviewed by officers and showed a struggle between two people and one person shooting the other, Coleman wrote.

Park is charged with one count of murder in the first degree, one count of tampering with physical evidence and one count of failing to stop at the direction of a peace officer in the first degree.

Alaska State Statute says that one of the ways someone commits murder in the first degree is when they cause the death of any person with the intent to cause the death of another person. A person commits the crime of tampering with physical evidence when they destroy, mutilate, alter, suppress, conceal or remove physical evidence with the intent to impair its verity or availability in an official proceeding or a criminal investigation.

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

More in News

A woman stands with her sign held up during a rally in support of Medicaid and South Peninsula Hospital on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer residents rally in support of South Peninsula Hospital and Medicaid

The community gathered on Wednesday in opposition to health care cuts that threaten rural hospitals.

Hunter Kirby holds up the hatchery king salmon he bagged during the one-day youth fishery on the Ninilchik River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Mike Booz
Ninilchik River closed to sport fishing

The closure is in effect from June 23 through July 15.

Señor Panchos in Soldotna, Alaska, is closed on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna restaurant owner remains in ICE custody; federal charges dropped

Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon was accused of being in the country illegally and falsely claiming citizenship on a driver’s license application.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough to provide maximum funding for school district

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will receive less money from the state this year than it did last year.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School on Tuesday.
Pools, theaters, libraries in jeopardy as cuts loom

The district issued “notices of non-retention” to all its pool managers, library aides and theater technicians.

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fishing slow on Russian River, improving on Kenai

Northern Kenai fishing report for Tuesday, June 17.

Josiah Kelly, right, appears for a superior court arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man accepts plea deal for November shootings

Buildings operated by a local health clinic and an addiction recovery nonprofit were targeted.

A demonstrator holds up a sign during the “No Kings” protest on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer hits the streets to say ‘No Kings’

Around 700 gathered locally as part of a nationwide protest.

Brooklyn Coleman, right, staffs The Squeeze Squad lemonade stand during Lemonade Day in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kids learn business skills at annual Lemonade Day

Around 40 stands were strewn around Soldotna, Kenai, Nikiski and Sterling for the event.

Most Read