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Duffy Prevention LegacyNever Forget - Prevent
Homer gathers July 1 to finally see justice for DuffyPublished 9:30 am Thursday, June 25, 2026 By Homer News staff
A celebration of life for Anesha “Duffy” Murnane will be held on July. 1. (Courtesy of Justice For Duffy)The Homer Police Department led a multi-year investigation into the murder of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, who went missing Oct. 17, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided by Homer Police Department)Kirby Calderwood will be sentenced July 1 for the murder of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane. (Photo provided/Homer Police)On the day the man who robbed Homer of a beloved member of the community is to be sentenced, friends, family and the public at large will join together to celebrate the life of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane.
Kirby Calderwood, 36, will be sentenced at 10 a.m., July 1, at the Homer Courthouse for Murnane’s murder. His plea agreement calls for a 99-year prison sentence with 12 years suspended, for an active jail sentence of 87 years followed by 10 years of probation.
Due to limited space at the courthouse, community members are invited to watch the proceedings live via Zoom at the Homer United Methodist Church.
Afterwards, the community will gather from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bishop’s Beach Pavilion for a potluck and celebration of Duffy’s life. The public is asked to bring a dish or two to share and your own chair to enjoy a live performance by cellist Mannfried Funk, interactive art with Mavis Muller, face painting and balloon animals by Edna & Family, an opportunity to write a love letter for Duffy that will be shared with her family. In case of inclement weather, an alternate gathering location will be emailed and announced on the Bring Duffy Home Facebook page.
Duffy’s Legacy Fund has been established to benefit local early childhood education programs and schools.
“Created to honor Duffy’s love of working with young children, this donor-advised acorn fund will support local youth education programs and schools in perpetuity,” according to Christina Whiting, on behalf of Duffy’s Family & Friends.
“Duffy’s family opened the fund with $10,000 and will match individual donations up to $5,000 total, at which point local groups can begin applying for funding.”
You can find out more about the fund at https://homer.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1760.
Duffy’s Legacy Cookbook is also being created to incorporate youth and community member recipes with a goal of publishing and selling locally spring 2027 to help raise money for the fund. Email duffyslegacyfund@gmail.com for updates on the fund and for information on the cookbook, including how to submit you and your children’s favorite recipes.
Murnane was last seen leaving the assisted living facility where she lived on Oct. 17, 2019.
A massive search for her whereabouts was conducted involving the police, firefighters, and many civilian members of the Homer community, however, Murnane was never found.
The Homer Police Department led a multi-year investigation into Murnane’s murder that intensified after a 2022 Kenai Peninsula Crime Stopper tip stated that Calderwood kidnapped, murdered, and disposed of Murnane.
He moved from Homer to Utah after she went missing. Later in 2022, Calderwood’s wife told the police that Calderwood had confessed to murdering Murnane in the crawlspace of his then-girlfriend’s parent’s house. Homer Police and the FBI investigated the crawlspace and recovered evidence that was found to contain Murnane’s DNA when tested by the Alaska Department of Public Safety Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory.
Utah Police and the FBI searched Calderwood’s Utah home and found Murnane’s watch in a drawer with a missing person poster for her.https://www.homernews.com/2026/06/25/homer-gathers-july-1-to-finally-see-justice-for-duffy/Michael Armstrong/Homer News file photoImages: Anesha “Duffy” Murnane are shown at her memorial and the dedication of the Loved & Lost Memorial Bench in 2022 at the Homer Public Library.
A celebration of life for Anesha “Duffy” Murnane will be held on July. 1. (Courtesy of Justice For Duffy)The Homer Police Department led a multi-year investigation into the murder of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, who went missing Oct. 17, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided by Homer Police Department)Kirby Calderwood will be sentenced July 1 for the murder of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane. (Photo provided/Homer Police)On the day the man who robbed Homer of a beloved member of the community is to be sentenced, friends, family and the public at large will join together to celebrate the life of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane.
Kirby Calderwood, 36, will be sentenced at 10 a.m., July 1, at the Homer Courthouse for Murnane’s murder. His plea agreement calls for a 99-year prison sentence with 12 years suspended, for an active jail sentence of 87 years followed by 10 years of probation.
Due to limited space at the courthouse, community members are invited to watch the proceedings live via Zoom at the Homer United Methodist Church.
Afterwards, the community will gather from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bishop’s Beach Pavilion for a potluck and celebration of Duffy’s life. The public is asked to bring a dish or two to share and your own chair to enjoy a live performance by cellist Mannfried Funk, interactive art with Mavis Muller, face painting and balloon animals by Edna & Family, an opportunity to write a love letter for Duffy that will be shared with her family. In case of inclement weather, an alternate gathering location will be emailed and announced on the Bring Duffy Home Facebook page.
Duffy’s Legacy Fund has been established to benefit local early childhood education programs and schools.
“Created to honor Duffy’s love of working with young children, this donor-advised acorn fund will support local youth education programs and schools in perpetuity,” according to Christina Whiting, on behalf of Duffy’s Family & Friends.
“Duffy’s family opened the fund with $10,000 and will match individual donations up to $5,000 total, at which point local groups can begin applying for funding.”
You can find out more about the fund at https://homer.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1760.
Duffy’s Legacy Cookbook is also being created to incorporate youth and community member recipes with a goal of publishing and selling locally spring 2027 to help raise money for the fund. Email duffyslegacyfund@gmail.com for updates on the fund and for information on the cookbook, including how to submit you and your children’s favorite recipes.
Murnane was last seen leaving the assisted living facility where she lived on Oct. 17, 2019.
A massive search for her whereabouts was conducted involving the police, firefighters, and many civilian members of the Homer community, however, Murnane was never found.
The Homer Police Department led a multi-year investigation into Murnane’s murder that intensified after a 2022 Kenai Peninsula Crime Stopper tip stated that Calderwood kidnapped, murdered, and disposed of Murnane.
He moved from Homer to Utah after she went missing. Later in 2022, Calderwood’s wife told the police that Calderwood had confessed to murdering Murnane in the crawlspace of his then-girlfriend’s parent’s house. Homer Police and the FBI investigated the crawlspace and recovered evidence that was found to contain Murnane’s DNA when tested by the Alaska Department of Public Safety Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory.
Utah Police and the FBI searched Calderwood’s Utah home and found Murnane’s watch in a drawer with a missing person poster for her.https://www.homernews.com/2026/06/25/homer-gathers-july-1-to-finally-see-justice-for-duffy/Michael Armstrong/Homer News file photoImages: Anesha “Duffy” Murnane are shown at her memorial and the dedication of the Loved & Lost Memorial Bench in 2022 at the Homer Public Library.
Man to be sentenced July 1 after pleading guilty in 2019 killing of missing Homer womanBy Jonson Kuhn - Published: Jun. 30, 2026 at 5:04 PM AKDT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A Utah man who pleaded guilty to killing a Homer woman who vanished nearly seven years ago is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Homer.
Kirby Calderwood, 36, pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder in the 2019 killing of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, according to the Alaska Department of Law. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 to 99 years.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will seek a 99-year prison term with 12 years suspended — 87 years to serve — followed by 10 years of probation, the Department of Law said in a Feb. 6 press release.
Murnane’s uncle, Michael Huelsman, said the disappearance jolted the family and a tight-knit community into action, with searches that went on without answers.
“You tried to do things like organize search parties or somebody brings in some dogs that follow her trail and, those kinds of things happening, but they all were fruitless,” he said.
Murnane disappeared Oct. 17, 2019, after she was last seen leaving the assisted living facility where she lived, authorities said.
Homer residents and first responders mounted a wide search, but she was never found, according to the Department of Law. A grand jury later deemed her death a homicide in June 2021.
Huelsman said the lack of recovery of Murnane’s remains has left the family with a specific kind of grief that resurfaces in everyday places.
“It’s so much sadder because you know, when you go by the dump, you think, well, that’s where she is,” Huelsman said. “She’s someplace there.”
Authorities said Calderwood worked at the facility where Murnane lived and moved from Homer to Utah after she disappeared. He was interviewed by investigators in May 2021.
A major break came in 2022 after a Kenai Peninsula Crime Stoppers tip alleged Calderwood kidnapped, murdered and disposed of Murnane, the Department of Law said. Court documents described “horrific” allegations about what Murnane endured, and friends and family said at the time they were bracing for a long legal process as they hoped for answers and accountability.
Later in 2022, Calderwood’s wife told police he confessed to killing Murnane in the crawlspace of his then-girlfriend’s parent’s house, according to the Department of Law. Investigators recovered evidence from the crawlspace that tested positive for Murnane’s DNA. A search of Calderwood’s Utah home also found Murnane’s watch in a drawer along with a missing-person poster for her.
Huelsman said the family remains frustrated by how little information it feels it has been able to learn about the case through the court process.
“It’s a system quite frankly, that does not allow the public to learn much about what has happened,” Huelsman said. “I think you will find if you look closer at this, that Alaska has a big problem with these kinds of murders,” Huelsman said
Huelsman said the family’s focus has been on preventing similar harm to others as the case moves toward sentencing.
“The family really is interested in the future in terms of other people being protected or similar kinds,” he said. “We don’t want to see something like this happen to another family.”
“What we want to do is we want to move towards closure. I don’t know if we’ll ever get there, but we want to head in that kind of direction.”
Huelsman said the family dynamic has changed since Murnane vanished, describing an ongoing anxiety that has reshaped daily life.
“It was a family that went (from) being pretty much happy and well-functioning and everything like that to a family with nightmares and worries about different members and ‘are they okay’ and, getting an app to see where they are, to feel better about it,” he said.
Huelsman added that the Homer community’s response in the early days of the search remains something the family remembers and will forever be grateful for.
“I think the Homer community did a tremendous job of supporting our family,” Huelsman said. “What I think, actually when I think about all the support that we got from Homer, tears just well up in my eyes because there was a lot of direct person-to-person support.”
The Homer Police Department led the multi-year investigation with assistance from the FBI, Utah State Police and Alaska State Troopers, the Department of Law said. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Scot H. Leaders and Assistant District Attorney Jon Iannaccone, the department said.
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/07/01/man-be-sentenced-july-1-after-pleading-guilty-2019-killing-missing-homer-woman/
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A Utah man who pleaded guilty to killing a Homer woman who vanished nearly seven years ago is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Homer.
Kirby Calderwood, 36, pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder in the 2019 killing of Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, according to the Alaska Department of Law. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 to 99 years.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will seek a 99-year prison term with 12 years suspended — 87 years to serve — followed by 10 years of probation, the Department of Law said in a Feb. 6 press release.
Murnane’s uncle, Michael Huelsman, said the disappearance jolted the family and a tight-knit community into action, with searches that went on without answers.
“You tried to do things like organize search parties or somebody brings in some dogs that follow her trail and, those kinds of things happening, but they all were fruitless,” he said.
Murnane disappeared Oct. 17, 2019, after she was last seen leaving the assisted living facility where she lived, authorities said.
Homer residents and first responders mounted a wide search, but she was never found, according to the Department of Law. A grand jury later deemed her death a homicide in June 2021.
Huelsman said the lack of recovery of Murnane’s remains has left the family with a specific kind of grief that resurfaces in everyday places.
“It’s so much sadder because you know, when you go by the dump, you think, well, that’s where she is,” Huelsman said. “She’s someplace there.”
Authorities said Calderwood worked at the facility where Murnane lived and moved from Homer to Utah after she disappeared. He was interviewed by investigators in May 2021.
A major break came in 2022 after a Kenai Peninsula Crime Stoppers tip alleged Calderwood kidnapped, murdered and disposed of Murnane, the Department of Law said. Court documents described “horrific” allegations about what Murnane endured, and friends and family said at the time they were bracing for a long legal process as they hoped for answers and accountability.
Later in 2022, Calderwood’s wife told police he confessed to killing Murnane in the crawlspace of his then-girlfriend’s parent’s house, according to the Department of Law. Investigators recovered evidence from the crawlspace that tested positive for Murnane’s DNA. A search of Calderwood’s Utah home also found Murnane’s watch in a drawer along with a missing-person poster for her.
Huelsman said the family remains frustrated by how little information it feels it has been able to learn about the case through the court process.
“It’s a system quite frankly, that does not allow the public to learn much about what has happened,” Huelsman said. “I think you will find if you look closer at this, that Alaska has a big problem with these kinds of murders,” Huelsman said
Huelsman said the family’s focus has been on preventing similar harm to others as the case moves toward sentencing.
“The family really is interested in the future in terms of other people being protected or similar kinds,” he said. “We don’t want to see something like this happen to another family.”
“What we want to do is we want to move towards closure. I don’t know if we’ll ever get there, but we want to head in that kind of direction.”
Huelsman said the family dynamic has changed since Murnane vanished, describing an ongoing anxiety that has reshaped daily life.
“It was a family that went (from) being pretty much happy and well-functioning and everything like that to a family with nightmares and worries about different members and ‘are they okay’ and, getting an app to see where they are, to feel better about it,” he said.
Huelsman added that the Homer community’s response in the early days of the search remains something the family remembers and will forever be grateful for.
“I think the Homer community did a tremendous job of supporting our family,” Huelsman said. “What I think, actually when I think about all the support that we got from Homer, tears just well up in my eyes because there was a lot of direct person-to-person support.”
The Homer Police Department led the multi-year investigation with assistance from the FBI, Utah State Police and Alaska State Troopers, the Department of Law said. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Scot H. Leaders and Assistant District Attorney Jon Iannaccone, the department said.
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/07/01/man-be-sentenced-july-1-after-pleading-guilty-2019-killing-missing-homer-woman/
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