By Associated Press - Friday, March 14, 2014

PALMER, Alaska (AP) - A 17-year-old Palmer, Alaska, youth accused of fatally shooting a 45-year-old man and dumping his body over a cliff has been charged with murder.

In court papers filed Friday, an Alaska State Troopers investigator says the teen told troopers he was punishing Frank Pushruk for what the teen believed was a recent sexual assault of a teenage girl.

The Anchorage Daily News reports (https://is.gd/qDabGq ) that troopers say the victim was shot once in the face and twice in the back of the head late Wednesday night at a Glenn Highway scenic overlook north of Palmer. Investigators say the 17-year-old enlisted a friend to help push the body off a bluff.



Palmer Superior Court Judge William Estelle set bail at $100,000 on Friday. The judge also appointed a public defender for the teen, who is being charged as an adult.

According to court documents, the girl told an investigator she didn’t think she had sex after a night of partying at Pushruk’s house.

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Information from: Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, https://www.adn.com

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