On the afternoon of October 13, 1975, York Wilson, a 27-year old native of Kotzebue and his wife, Marie Wilson began drinking beer at the Golden Whale, a bar in Kotzebue. After about four hours, they went to a liquor store, bought some whiskey and then went to the home of Wilsons brother, Morris where they continued to drink. Marie and Morris wife fell asleep in the early morning, but York and Morris stayed up drinking all night. The next morning, when the liquor store opened, Wilson and his brother bought two 6-packs of beer and two fifths of whiskey. They drank till late afternoon, and then Wilson and his wife went back to the Golden Whale, where they drank until about 7:00 p.m. They then went to a liquor store and purchased another fifth of whiskey and walked around drinking it. They came upon a cab that had its engine running, and Wilson decided to go for a drive. He told his wife to get into the car, they drove around town for a little while, and then stopped near the hospital. They got out and walked some more, continuing to drink. When they saw the police approach, Wilson told his wife to go back to his brothers house.
