Press Release

Ryan Edwin Sentenced to 65 Years for 2018 Murder and Robbery

May 13, 2025

(Anchorage, AK) – Today, Superior Court Judge William Morse sentenced Ryan Shane Edwin, 28, to a composite sentence of 65 years of imprisonment, following his December 2024 jury trial convictions for Murder in the Second Degree, Robbery in the First Degree and Misconduct Involving Weapons in the Third Degree.

The evidence at trial showed that on Nov. 12, 2018, the defendant and co-defendant Dwayne Nelson met the victim, David Anthony Welch, 28, in the rear parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express at 4411 Spenard Road in Anchorage. Welch believed he was there to participate in the sale of controlled substances, the terms of which had been agreed to in a series of instant messages between friends of Welch and associates of Nelson and the defendant.

A few minutes after Welch entered the back seat of Nelson and the defendant’s vehicle, the defendant, seated in the front passenger seat, turned and shot Welch once in the chest. The bullet passed through his body and the seat behind him, eventually coming to rest in the trunk, where it was later found by investigators. Welch scrambled out of the vehicle and fell to the ground, as Nelson, the driver, began to speed away from the scene. However, the vehicle stopped and the defendant got out. He then forced Welch to give him a quantity of controlled substances before shooting him once more.

Welch ran inside the Holiday Inn to seek help. He was rushed to Providence Alaska Medical Center, where he died from his injuries later that day.

Edwin has six previous criminal convictions, including felony convictions for Burglary, Vehicle Theft and Failure to Stop at the Direction of a Police Officer.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Travis Atkinson and Patrick McKay of the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, with the assistance of Paralegal Amanda Runyan.

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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.