A South African man was arrested in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday after being linked to a murder case through a memory card which allegedly contains videos and photos of him strangling a woman.
The New York Times reported that a woman picked up the discarded memory card from the ground. She handed it over to police on September 30.
Two days later, police received a phone call alerting them about human remains found at Seward Highway near Rainbow Valley Road, about 30km from the hotel shown in the videos and pictures found on the memory card.
Police arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, at the Ted Stevens International Airport on Tuesday. His arrest came after police recognised him in the videos and photos due to a previous investigation involving him.
The police investigation revealed that Smith had booked a hotel room for two days. Officers also said that the carpet seen in the hotel room where the murder allegedly took place matched that of the hotel he was booked into.
The Associated Press reported that Smith appeared in court on Tuesday, where he indicated he would not be able to afford legal services.
He was remanded in custody with his bail set at $500,000, about R7.6m.
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