Alaskan man charged with killing baby in pack

A Kotzebue man swinging a baseball bat struck a baby girl who was nestled inside another man’s jacket, killing her, according to court documents filed in early April.

Richard L. Miller, 43, was charged with second-degree murder in the March 9 death of a 10-month-old girl. Prosecutors say he also beat another other man with the baseball bat and have charged him additionally with first-degree assault.

Drinking was involved, although Kotzebue is a damp community, meaning alcohol can be possessed but not legally bought or sold. But people still buy it illegally, and Kotzebue seems to be experiencing an increase in violence and death connected to alcohol, according to police chief Ed Weibl.

“It’s out of control,” he told the Anchorage Daily News.