About Betsy
My Story
I grew up in the Southeast Alaska town of Sitka, and began working at the daily newspaper in high school, then returned after earning my bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.
After moving to the newspaper in Juneau, I met another reporter at a city council meeting, Ed Schoenfeld, and married him about two years later. After we had two daughters, I began working part time as a technical writer and editor.
I began a new career in later life, earning a master’s degree in social work and becoming a civilian employee of the U.S. Coast Guard.
After retirement, my lifelong love of murder mysteries, interest in historical newspaper coverage, and the ability to operate a microfilm reader evolved into the ultimate retirement project: writing books. My husband and I have spent countless hours poring over old newspapers, decades-old court documents and other records to develop an understanding of historic murder in our hometown of Juneau, Alaska, and nearby communities.
In addition to research and writing, we spend our time hiking with our dog, visiting grandchildren and volunteering for different organizations, including the Juneau Douglas City Museum, which sponsors our historic walking tours.
Death in the Underworld: An Alaska Murder Mystery is my newest book. It’s my first novel and is based on one of our most interesting cases. Beginning with one murder, it turns into a race against a determined killer in a town isolated by geography and weather.
Forgotten Murders from Alaska’s Capital was my first book. It’s a non-fiction collection of ten historic murders in Juneau and Douglas. Three chapters began as live presentations that Ed and I developed as very popular fundraisers for the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. I examine these stories through the lens of contemporary news coverage, census data, and local memories. The collection includes the trial of Alaska’s first known serial killer, the death of a vaudevillian aboard his boat, and an examination of an abused wife who kills her husband as he attacks her.
Both books are published by Epicenter Press.
Personal Life
When I describe myself, I think first that I’m an Alaskan, then a former journalist, then a social worker, and now a grandmother (after first being a mother, coincidentally).
I came to Alaska in the 1960s, clinging to a loose tooth that I somehow associated with the Alaska State Marine Highway, called the ferry system, that brought my family to our new home of Sitka. Surely, this ferry would be directly connected to other fairies, such as those of the tooth variety. Instead, I was disillusioned when the tooth fairy apparently contracted with my Dad, who “snuck” the quarter under my pillow while I was actually lying on it (with my eyes open!).
After that rough introduction, I fell into what seems like years of reading books, eating M&Ms, and trying to dodge any household chores. These activities mostly took place in my bedroom, but occasionally branched out to the bunk on the boat that my Dad took out with the family at every opportunity (any weekend he wasn’t on call as one of two surgeons in town).
Inspired by my aunt and uncle, who ran the Daily Sitka Sentinel newspaper, I went to journalism school in Oregon, returned to Alaska, and worked at daily papers in both Sitka and Juneau. I loved my job – talking to fascinating people, writing on deadline and even attending night meetings. It was all fun, interesting and I sometimes had a byline on the front page!
Life then happened – I met a cute reporter who was covering the same city council meeting in Juneau, fell in love, got married and had two little girls who finally turned me into something resembling an adult. I was a self-employed writer and non-profit administrator for most of the girls’ childhood, then went back to school and earned my master’s in social work, ending my professional life assisting families and active-duty members of the U.S. Coast Guard.
My retirement, thus far, has been lots of hikes with Ed and our dog, some kayaking when we feel hardy enough to put the kayak on top of the car, and researching historic murder. One of our daughters is a nurse director in Juneau; the other is a corporate manager who lives with her husband and two sons in Washington state, so we travel there frequently. We are blessed (a phrase that was used by “old people” when I was young, but has come to take on real meaning as I get older).
About the photo below: As we shared our stories of Alaska murders, we discovered we had become a part of a huge community of researchers, writers, producers, and fans of true crime. We decided to attend the 2022 CrimeCon in Las Vegas, which attracted several thousand people, to see what we could learn. We picked up useful information and laughed at all the clever T-shirts. (“I’m Just Here For The Alibi” was a favorite.) But we realized most of the energy was focused on contemporary and recent cases, with lots of blood, guts and drama. Our focus on historic crimes is different, though there are similarities.
