On January 21, 2026, Fairbanks Police in Alaska responded to a 911 call around 3:45 p.m. at a home in the 1000 block of 22nd Avenue, where they found 87-year-old Velma Koontz dead in her wheelchair from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Suspect’s Confession
Koontz’s grandson, Brian Davenport, 29, immediately admitted to officers that he killed her using his grandfather’s stolen handgun. He confessed after being Mirandized, saying he initially planned to kill someone else but targeted his grandmother instead, comparing it to “pulling the plug” for a peaceful death. Davenport wanted to spare her worry about her legacy amid her cancer diagnosis and hospice care.
Timeline and Arrest
Less than an hour earlier, Davenport had called 911 himself but hung up without speaking, leading police to find him acting erratically roadside; they took him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for safety. There, after learning of the death, he confessed again. He’s charged with first-degree murder, held on $5 million bail at Fairbanks Correctional Center, arraigned Wednesday, with a preliminary hearing set for January 30.
Court records and police statements detail his admissions of wrongness but rationalization of the act.
