Executive Summary
- Tina Marie Alcorn was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the 2016 murder of master carver George David.
- The case was solved by the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Unit.
- New DNA analysis by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab linked Alcorn to the crime scene years later.
- Alcorn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a deadly weapon enhancement in Clallam County Superior Court.
- George David was a renowned artist from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation whose work is exhibited globally.
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — An Arkansas woman was sentenced to 13 years in prison on December 15 in Clallam County Superior Court for the 2016 murder of renowned Indigenous carver George Cecil David, concluding a nearly decade-long investigation revitalized by a specialized cold case unit.
According to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Tina Marie Alcorn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, along with a special sentencing enhancement for being armed with a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime. The sentencing follows her arrest in June 2024, which was made possible after investigators revisited forensic evidence connected to David’s death.
David, a 65-year-old member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was found dead in a Port Angeles apartment on March 28, 2016. Port Angeles police stated that Alcorn, who lived a transient lifestyle at the time, was initially identified as a suspect and arrested on an unrelated parole warrant. However, authorities noted they lacked sufficient evidence to charge her with the homicide at that time, and she was subsequently extradited to Arkansas.
The case remained stalled until 2024, when a Port Angeles police officer contacted Washington’s newly formed Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Cold Case Unit. Investigators reported that the unit facilitated advanced DNA analysis performed by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, which provided the necessary evidence to link Alcorn to the crime scene definitively.
David was a master carver whose works are displayed internationally, including in the royal collections of Norway and at Kobe City Hall in Japan. In a community impact statement cited by prosecutors, David’s daughter, Maria David, expressed relief at the outcome, stating that the sentencing was a critical step in her healing journey after years of uncertainty.
Investigative Impact & Judicial Resolution
The resolution of this case underscores the operational significance of specialized units dedicated to cold cases involving Indigenous victims, a demographic that federal data indicates is disproportionately represented in unsolved violent crimes. By successfully leveraging inter-agency cooperation and modern forensic technology, the Washington MMIWP Cold Case Unit has demonstrated a viable framework for clearing historical homicide backlogs. This sentencing establishes a legal precedent for the efficacy of state-funded initiatives designed to assist local law enforcement in complex, cross-jurisdictional investigations.
