Press Release
Anchorage Jury Convicts Michael Drost for Murdering Dwayne English in December 2018
May 23, 2023
(Anchorage, AK) – Today, an Anchorage jury convicted 37-year-old Michael Drost of murder in the second degree, manslaughter, and criminal trespass in the first degree for the murder of 61-year-old Dwayne English on Dec. 18, 2018. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna presided over the trial.
At trial, the evidence showed that Michael Drost was looking for a dog near 12th Street and Gambell Street when he encountered the victim, Dwayne English. Drost and English got into a verbal altercation, which led to Drost approaching English on multiple occasions during one of which Drost is observed on surveillance video stabbing English in the heart with a knife. English proceeded to leave the scene while Drost followed him for a short time. English eventually succumbed to his injuries in front of a local business.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023, in front of Judge McKenna. Judge McKenna may sentence Drost to a term of imprisonment of no less than 15 years and no more than 99 years.
This case was prosecuted by Anchorage Assistant District Attorneys Luba Bartnitskaia and Kaila Hurley. The Anchorage Police Department’s Homicide Unit did the investigation.
CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Luba Bartnitskaia at (907) 269-6300 or Luba.Bartnitskaia@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.