Her sister and brother-in-law, Cheryl and Paul Chapman, were the ones who discovered the horror after Nancy failed to show up for work. In addition to the deadly assaults, there was some evidence of burglary. So appalling was the attack and so concerned were authorities that a viciously depraved or serial killer was on the loose. Anchorage police and the Alaska state troopers immediately formed a joint task force. In any case that could potentially be seen as a domestic homicide, the spouse is always considered among the earliest suspects. But John Newman, a heavy-equipment operator on the oil pipeline who had come up to Alaska with his family from their native state of Idaho, had been injured on the job three months before and had been down in San Francisco since January 3 for treatment and rehabilitation. And aside from the logistical impossibility of his involvement, it quickly became clear to investigators that he and his wife and children had a model loving relationship without a hint of any problems.
