Serial killer: Police say James Dale Ritchie committed 5 murders in 2016

Anchorage police today announced they have concluded that James Dale Ritchie shot and killed five people in three locations across Anchorage last year, officially making Ritchie the latest in a series of Alaska serial killers.

[Police defend decision to keep link among Anchorage killings a secret]

Ritchie was killed Nov. 12 by police when he opened fire on Officer Arn Salao. Police had previously said Ritchie was responsible for the July 29 killing of Treyveonkindell Thompson in East Anchorage, and that the Colt Python revolver Ritchie used in that shooting had also been used in two pairs of unsolved double homicides.

[TIMELINE: The life of accused killer James Dale Ritchie]

At the time, detectives had not ruled out that others might be involved in the deaths. Today, police are officially accusing Ritchie of the four remaining homicides linked to the revolver, including:

- The July 3 killings of Brianna Foisy and Jason Netter at the 200 block of Post Road.

- The Aug. 28 killings of Kevin Turner and Brie DeHusson at Valley of the Moon Park.

The five killings were among a record 34 homicides in Anchorage in 2016. Police said today they have concluded that Ritchie, 40, acted alone and had possession of the murder weapon before the killings began.

[Father surprised to learn identity of son's accused killer, a childhood friend]

Find KTUU’s Emmy-nominated investigation of those homicides, including

an interactive timeline of Ritchie’s path from champion athlete to killer, here

[‘Super intelligent:’ Multiple-murder suspect James Dale Ritchie's life outside Alaska]

Here is the full statement from Anchorage police spokeswoman Renee Oistad today:

The Anchorage Police Department has concluded their investigation into James Dale Richie who was fatally wounded in an attack on APD Officer Arn Salao last November. Homicide Detectives have established sufficient probable cause to conclude that Richie was responsible for five homicides during the summer of 2016. As reported earlier, the revolver Ritchie had in his possession in November was linked to five homicides cases as the murder weapon (Post Road, Valley of the Moon and Bolin Street Homicides). Homicide detectives were able to establish Ritchie possessed the .357 Colt Python before any of the killings and that he acted alone. All of the investigations related to James Dale Ritchie are now closed. The conclusion of these cases could not have happened without the help of the public and other law enforcement agencies like the Alaska State Troopers and the FBI. Without their tremendous support, this investigation would have been immeasurably more difficult. For follow up questions please contact the FBI.