A Washington State judge delivered a 13-year sentence today for the 2016 murder of George Cecil David, after the cold case investigation was reopened with new evidence that led to an arrest.
Tina Marie Alcorn was handed more than 13 years in prison by a Clallam County Superior Court judge on Dec. 15. The Arkansas resident went on trial in August to plea guilty, after she was arrested in June by Port Angeles police and charged with second degree murder for the death of George David. David is from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and lived in Neah Bay, Washington before his passing.
The 65-year-old’s body was found in a Port Angeles apartment on March 28, 2016, where he had been temporarily staying with a friend. He had left his home in Neah Bay days earlier, and was headed to join family in British Columbia for a funeral, according to the Port Angeles Police Department. He died from blunt force trauma to the head.
“It’s impossible to describe the pain of losing a loved one,” said Washinton State Attorney General Nick Brown in a press release. “We hope that bringing accountability and closure in this case can provide some measure of comfort to George’s family and friends.”
David was a renowned carver, whose work was exhibited around the world, including being part of Norway’s royal collection and displayed at the city hall in Kobe, Japan.
“My dad was a master carver,” said his daughter Maria David in a press release. “There are two half-finished puppets my dad was carving that were to be used as a means of Indian storytelling. But that never got to happen. I just have half-finished carvings that never got to become puppets and tell their stories. Indian artwork is a way for us to tell our stories.”
Alcorn was identified as a suspect early in the homicide investigation, but police didn’t secure enough evidence to press charges at the time. Weeks after David’s body was found, she was even arrested in Mount Vernon, Washington on April 19, 2016 for unrelated charges. She was sent to Arkansas to serve this sentence for breaking parole conditions from a theft felony.
The David case sat cold for years, until it was reopened in 2024 when Port Angeles police teamed up with the newly formed Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Team.
“The cold case team supported the department in conducting additional investigation into evidence collected from 2016, including additional DNA analysis performed at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab,” stated the press release from the Washington Attorney General’s office.
This is the first conviction that the MMIWP Cold Case Unit has helped to secure since it was formed in 2023.
