Truer Crime – Jennifer Kirk + Susu Norton Part 2

Host: Celisia Stanton
Podcast: Truer Crime
Date: January 12, 2026

Episode Overview

This season finale continues Celisia Stanton’s rigorous, empathetic investigation into the deaths of Jennifer Kirk and Susanna “Susu” Norton—two young Indigenous women found dead two years apart on the same property in Kotzebue, Alaska, both with ties to the town’s most powerful family. The episode examines how their cases—marked by violence, systemic indifference, and a profound lack of justice—reflect larger failures to protect Indigenous women. Through narrative, interviews, and investigative reporting, Stanton probes patterns of silence, community outrage, and the quest for accountability, ultimately highlighting the persistence and courage of the victims’ families.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Susu Norton: Life, Violence, and System Failure

• Personal Remembrance (03:02):
  • Susu, like Jennifer Kirk, was Inupiaq, a devoted mother, and known for her warmth and generosity.
  • “Her family remembers the small things. Her habit of cracking her knuckles, how she danced, how she used to talk about taking a Caribbean cruise. One day, her mother recalled to ProPublica the last moment she spent with her daughter…that was who she was. Present, giving.” — Celisia Stanton [03:20]
• Parallels to Jennifer Kirk:
  • Both women shared a birthday (August 21) and were connected to the same powerful family through intimate relationships.
• Domestic Violence Escalation (05:00):
  • In late 2018, Susu, then pregnant, was brutally assaulted by her partner Amos Richards. Despite the severity, he only faced a misdemeanor (4th degree assault).
    • “This wasn’t some scuffle…a pregnant woman being brutally beaten by the father of her child. And yet…the lowest level of assault under Alaska law.” — Celisia Stanton [06:29]
  • The beating led to premature labor; their daughter Eden was born at just over 3 pounds and placed in foster care.
• Hope and Heartbreak (07:32):
  • Susu tried to remain hopeful and stay involved in her children’s lives, even through hospitalizations and forced separation.
• Final Days & Overlapping Tragedy (09:22):
  • In early 2020, Susu was meant to fly with Amos to finalize Eden’s adoption—the same week she died violently on the Richards property.

2. Discovery and Aftermath of Susu’s Death

• Immediate Response & Investigation (11:28):
  • On March 9th, 2020, Susu was found dead outside in -13°F weather, beaten and strangled.
    • “She’d been strangled to death. The autopsy would later show…multiple blunt force injuries. This wasn’t an accident. This was homicide.” — Celisia Stanton [12:01]
  • Confusion over her final days—police timeline didn’t match family accounts.
• Family Trauma and Institutional Neglect:
  • Susu’s mother, Mama Sue, learned of her daughter’s manner of death only when receiving the death certificate weeks later.
    • “She didn’t get a knock on the door, she didn’t get a phone call…Inside was her daughter’s death certificate.” — Celisia Stanton [13:01]
  • Mama Sue was never interviewed by police, despite living three doors down from the crime scene.
• Haunting Community Contrasts:
  • The murder investigation of a town pet husky just a year prior received more urgency and community mobilization than Susu’s killing.
    • “When you place that alongside what happened a year later, it becomes even harder to make sense of what didn’t happen for Susu.” — Celisia Stanton [16:36]

3. Systemic Barriers to Justice

• Police and Judicial Failure:
  • Essential interviews never conducted; evidence collection stalled; open records remain largely sealed without explanation.
  • Leslie Sundberg (adoptive mother of Eden) filed a complaint alleging police dishonesty, yet the case’s open status blocked any investigation.
    • “One must wonder…if there are unethical reasons why a native Alaskan woman…has been swept under the rug.” — Leslie Sundberg quoted by Celisia Stanton [18:25]
  • State Troopers later promised attention but failed to follow through, compounding the family’s grief and uncertainty.
• Richards Family’s Silence:
  • When reporter Kyle Hopkins visited, the Richards family refused to engage.
    • “At one point he even suggested, without evidence, that she might have taken her own life. ‘It’s a common thing in Alaska,’ he said.” — Celisia Stanton recounting Clement Jr. [19:55]

4. Parallel Failures in Jennifer Kirk’s Case

• Official Contradiction and Closure (20:38):
  • Police insist Jennifer’s death was suicide, declining to reopen the case despite community concern and unresolved questions.
    • “If Kotzebue police were to refer that case to the troopers, the troopers would not accept it because they didn’t feel that there was an opportunity to draw a different conclusion.” — Kyle Hopkins [20:55]
  • Discrepancies in official accounts, refusal to share investigation materials with the family, and lack of transparency deepen family trauma.
    • “It definitely took us by surprise again…like adding insult to injury.” — Lucy Boyd, Jennifer’s sister [21:59]

5. Wider Crisis: Violence Against Indigenous Women in Alaska

• Epidemic Proportions:
  • Alaska leads US states in rates of Indigenous women killed by men; systemic gaps are glaring.
    • “It’s not statistical noise. It’s evidence of a system that has failed or was never built to protect indigenous women in the first place.” — Celisia Stanton [22:45]
• Resource Barriers:
  • Chronic lack of law enforcement capacity, high caseloads, and institutional inertia fuel the crisis.
    • “You have too few people doing too many jobs…things that are more a matter of resource and attention.” — Kyle Hopkins [23:46]
  • Federal intervention and new councils (e.g., MMIP) arrive too late for these families.

6. Enduring Grief and Calls for Justice

• Personal and Collective Pain:
  • Mama Sue continues to live within sight of the location of her daughter’s murder.
    • “There’s a kind of grief that attaches itself to the land… It lingers. It follows.” — Celisia Stanton [25:26]
  • Both families remain in limbo—stories with no closure, communities still seeking answers and accountability.

7. Advocacy and Next Steps

• Data for Indigenous Justice (DIJ):
  • Featured as a model for community-led recordkeeping, advocacy, and honoring the lost with dignity.
    • “Every MMIP case represents a life lived, a community that’s grieving, and a story that really deserves to be held with care and nuance.” — Celisia Stanton [28:11]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No one told Susu’s mother, Mama Sue, what had actually happened to her daughter…That was how Mama Sue learned that Susu had been strangled to death…beaten before she died.” — Celisia Stanton [13:01]
• “One must wonder…if there are unethical reasons why a native Alaskan woman…has been swept under the rug.” — Leslie Sundberg [18:25]
• “In Kotzebue, you can be charged with fourth degree assault just for yelling at someone.” — Celisia Stanton quoting Kyle Hopkins [06:08]
• “You have too few people doing too many jobs…There are people getting away with homicides because we are not equipped to…address and tackle these homicides as they happen with enough attention and horsepower.” — Kyle Hopkins [23:46]
• “There’s a kind of grief that attaches itself to the land…It becomes part of what you step over every morning, part of the view.” — Celisia Stanton [25:26]
• “Every MMIP case represents a life lived, a community that’s grieving, and a story that really deserves to be held with care and nuance.” — Celisia Stanton [28:11]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:02] – Introduction to Susu, community and family memories
• [05:00] – Domestic violence history and details of Amos Richards’ assault
• [07:32] – Eden’s premature birth, out-of-state foster care, and Susu’s hope
• [11:28] – Discovery of Susu’s body and flawed initial investigation
• [13:01] – Mama Sue’s experience and the family’s grief
• [16:36] – Contrasting law enforcement response (dog killing vs. Susu’s murder)
• [18:25] – Leslie Sundberg’s complaint and institutional barriers to investigation
• [19:55] – Richards family’s denial and silence
• [20:38] – Handling and contradictions in Jennifer Kirk’s case
• [22:45] – National crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women
• [23:46] – Kyle Hopkins on systemic inadequacy
• [25:26] – Mama Sue’s continuing grief; landscape as witness
• [28:11] – Data for Indigenous Justice and honoring the lost

Final Thoughts

Celisia Stanton weaves a harrowing account of two unsolved deaths, underscoring a pattern of violence, bias, and institutional neglect not isolated to Kotzebue but emblematic of a broader American crisis. The episode demands remembrance and justice for Jennifer Kirk and Susu Norton—insisting that their names, and the failures surrounding them, will not fade into silence.

For further information and ways to support, listen to additional resources or join advocacy efforts at dataforindigenousjustice.org or truercrimepodcast.com.