Press Release
Tylan Fely sentenced for 2019 Murder of Wife and Daughter
March 7, 2025
(Anchorage, AK) – Today, 40-year-old Tylan Lee-Kaulana Fely of Anchorage was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna for the murders of his wife, Cecilia Tuuaga, and his 13-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Tuuaga, on Nov. 30, 2019. Fely previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Second-Degree Murder on Oct. 29, 2025.
Defendant Tylan Lee-Kaulana Fely, 40, of Anchorage
On Nov. 30, 2019, Fely shot and killed Cecilia Tuuaga, 30, at their home in front of Nevaeh Tuuaga. He then drove Cecilia Tuuaga’s body around in a vehicle with Nevaeh Tuuaga before stopping at a gas station. Fely stayed on the phone with Nevaeh Tuuaga while she purchased a gas can and filled it up at his direction. Fely then shot and killed his daughter in a vacant lot before setting the car on fire with both bodies inside. The bodies were discovered after the Anchorage Fire Department responded to a report of a burning vehicle by a passerby.
Fely was previously convicted of Manslaughter in 2008 for the 2005 homicide of Mark Smith.
The parties reached a plea agreement in this case that results in Fely serving 100 years in prison. He will not be eligible for discretionary parole until he has served at least 55 years, which will be just before his 90th birthday. In addition, Fely stipulated that the murders of his wife and daughter were among the most serious second-degree murders because his conduct constituted the more serious offense of First-Degree Murder. Reaching a plea agreement avoided the necessity of calling one of Fely’s surviving children to testify at trial.
Assistant District Attorney Pat McKay addressing the Judge on sentencing.
The sentencing hearing was highly emotional. Numerous members of Cecilia and Nevaeh’s family spoke about how loved and important they were to their family. They noted that their lives “will be a memory that lives on forever within us all.” Many spoke of the personal trauma that they have endured and their reliance on faith to get them through this tragedy. Fely’s surviving daughters expressed how much they missed their mother and sister.
Fely gave an allocution at the hearing and apologized.
Judge McKenna accepted the agreement of the parties. He stated that this hearing really emphasized the humanity of the criminal justice process and the strength of the victim’s family. He noted that domestic violence homicides cause families to lose “doubly,” since everyone involved was family. The Judge noted that the primary sentencing factors of isolation, the seriousness of the offense, and community condemnation were met in the agreement and expressed hope that the sentence, which is essentially a life sentence, would deter others from engaging in similar conduct. Judge McKenna made a point to tell the surviving children that they “will find light and joy again, it will come, it will be different but you will find that.”
Fely is currently in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.
CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay at (907) 269-6300 or patrick.mckay@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.