Palmer man found guilty of murder in Fairbanks court

The jury has returned a verdict in the trial of Bradley Renfro. He has been found guilty of all but one count.

Renfro was found guilty of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, 3 counts of murder in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence, vehicle theft, and arson in the third degree. He was found not guilty of assault in the first degree.

These verdicts carry a possible sentence of anywhere from 30 to 99 years in prison.

Bradley Renfro, 18, of Palmer, was being tried for his connect to the murder of David Grunwald in Palmer in November of 2016.

The prosecutor said that Almandinger, Renfro, and the other co-defendants in the case, Austin Barrett and Dominic Johnson, where all close friends and tried to emulate the Crips gang.

Grunwald went to over to the house to smoke marijuana with the group. Shortly after he arrived, Kalytiak said that the group beat him with a pistol and then decided to kill him. They loaded David Grunwald into his Ford Bronco and drove him a remote part of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and then shot him in the head.

According to the prosecution, Renfro was the one who suggested where they take Grunwald to kill him.

After killing Grunwald the defendants went and got gas cans. Kalytiak showed the jury surveillance footage of Renfro going into a gas station to pay for gas to fill them up. Later that night they took the stolen Bronco to a different location and lit it on fire. They then called a cab and went back to the trailer where the attack started to clean up the blood.

According to the prosecution, Renfro was a willing participant in the murder of Grunwald and helped make decisions and cover up the crime.

The defense disagreed with this conclusion.

“The State’s theory is, as you have heard a couple times now or more… can’t explain a motive,” said Chris Provost, the defense attorney. “I don't believe Bradley Renfro can explain a motive to you either. He had never met David Grunwald till he stepped into that trailer before."

While the defense doesn’t disagree that Renfro was there for the crime, they do contend that he was a willing participant.

Two of the co-defendants. Johnson and Almandinger have already been found guilty of the murder in a Palmer court. The third co-defendant, Austin Barratt, will be tried in Fairbanks at a later date.