Press Release

Fairbanks Man Sentenced To 45 Years Imprisonment for the 2019 Murder of His Estranged Girlfriend

August 30, 2023

(Fairbanks, AK) – Today, Judge Amy Welch sentenced 31-year-old Kelly Sweetsir of Fairbanks to 45 years imprisonment for murdering his estranged girlfriend in August of 2019. Judge Welch also imposed an additional fifteen years of suspended time that Mr. Sweetsir could potentially serve should he ever be released and violate the terms of his probation.

On August 9, 2019, Sweetsir’s mother contacted the Alaska State Troopers to report a possible murder. She stated that the defendant’s girlfriend was last seen lying motionless in a puddle of blood in the garage of the residence she was residing in and that the defendant was stabbing her. Troopers and EMS responded and located the girlfriend in the garage. EMS attempted lifesaving measure, to include transporting her to the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. She was pronounced dead upon her arrival. Troopers observed the girlfriend to have numerous stab wounds to her abdomen, the back of her torso, and to her to face, neck, arms, and hands. Sweetsir, after fleeing the scene, was later located by the troopers at his residence. After approximately a thirty-minute standoff, he surrendered himself and was taken into custody.

Sweetsir, a diagnosed schizophrenic who was off his medication, told troopers upon being interviewed that voices in his head urged him to kill his girlfriend. The defendant also admitted to using multiple knives to stab his girlfriend and watching her to make sure that she did not survive the attack. The investigation further revealed that the defendant and his girlfriend had been together for approximately three months and had lived together, but that she had recently moved out to get away from the defendant.

Sweetsir entered a plea of guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree in September of 2022, and per a partial plea agreement with the state faced a sentencing range of 30 to 60 years.

In imposing sentence, Judge Welch indicated that “the need to isolate the defendant from the community was high”, the “the viciousness of this crime cannot be overstated,” and that “the court needs to send a message that there is no excuse for domestic violence.”

Mr. Sweetsir is currently in custody at the Fairbanks Correctional Center and will not be eligible for discretionary parole until serving at least 30 years of his sentence.

Fairbanks Deputy District Attorney Andrew Baldock, who prosecuted the case, thanks the Alaska State Troopers for their hard work in investigating the crime.

CONTACT: District Attorney Joe Dallaire joe.dallaire@alaska.gov or Deputy District Attorney Andrew Baldock andrew.baldock@alaska.gov

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.