Tuluksak Man Charged With Second-Degree Murder in Death of Nelson Hawk

Jonathan Owens, 42, has been charged with second-degree murder after charging documents allege he shot 54-year-old Tuluksak resident Nelson Hawk at a cabin Owens owned at a fish camp near Tuluksak in the early morning hours of Feb. 15. Alaska State Troopers said they found Hawk’s body lying in the snow a short distance from the cabin and reported blood on multiple surfaces inside the structure, and the wound at the scene was consistent with a shotgun injury.

The complaint filed against Owens lists second-degree murder, two counts of felony assault, and one count of tampering with evidence. The tampering allegation states Owens hid the shotgun and removed a shell casing from the scene, according to the charging documents cited by investigators. Troopers returned the following day to Tuluksak and arrested Owens; he is being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel.

Investigators and charging documents place the shooting at some point in the early morning hours of Feb. 15 at the cabin Owens owned. Law enforcement accounts describe the immediate scene as both a body lying in snow near the cabin and, in other accounts, as a body found on a trail near the village with a gunshot wound. Inside the cabin troopers reported visible blood on multiple surfaces while officers worked the scene.

Hawk’s body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, and his family has been notified, local reporting indicates. Investigators have not publicly released a final cause-and-cause determination from the medical examiner at this time, and authorities have not released additional forensic findings such as ballistics or autopsy results in the days since the arrest.

Community reaction on the station’s social post about the arrest was notable: the post recorded 54 reactions, 9 comments, and 18 shares. One commenter, Darlene Joyce, wrote, "Prayers and Petition to Agayun for Jonathan, for He alone knows his heart and its desires Prayers and condolences to the Hawk family, and the village members Tuluksak, also Togiak." Another commenter, Leon Asicksik, posted, "Sending prayers to the family that lost a loved one, an uncle, a brother, a husband, uppa, nephew. R.I.P."

Some reporting indicates investigators allege the shooting stemmed from an argument at the fish camp, a detail that appears in investigators’ accounts but should be treated as an allegation pending court proceedings and charging-document evidence. A commentary published alongside those reports warned, "A heated argument can escalate in seconds, but the outcome can affect families, communities, and lives forever."

Owens’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Bethel court. Prosecutors, Alaska State Troopers, the State Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center have been named in public accounts as the agencies involved; formal charging documents and trooper releases remain the primary records to confirm the timeline, specific allegations, and forensic findings as the case moves through Bethel court.