Press Release

Andrew Byrd Sentenced to Serve 25 Years for 2015 Sexual Assault

November 24, 2025

(Anchorage, AK) – On Nov. 20, Superior Court Judge Peter Ramgren sentenced 43-year-old Andrew Byrd to serve 25 years for two Sexual Assault in the First-Degree convictions stemming from a 2015 sexual assault.

Byrd will also have an additional 10 years of jail time suspended and will be on probation supervision for 15 years following his release. Byrd was found guilty of two counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, and one count of Assault in the Third Degree following a jury trial in April 2025.

On May 16, 2015, a woman reported she had been sexually and physically assaulted while camping in her car at a Portage campground. The woman reported to police, and later testified at trial, that she awoke to a male, who had been camping at a nearby site, holding his hand over her mouth. She said he then strangled and sexually assaulted her. Law enforcement, working with a sexual assault response team, conducted an investigation, and sexual assault nurses collected evidence from the victim’s body as part of a sexual assault kit.

In 2016, the Alaska State Troopers, (AST), applied for and received a grant under the federal Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (“SAKI”) Program to test all of the Troopers’ untested sexual assault kits. As part of this grant program, the victim’s kit was tested, and a male DNA profile was identified. That profile was entered into CODIS, a nationwide DNA database, however, no match was discovered. Despite a thorough investigation into multiple leads and suspects, the case went cold.

In 2023, the Alaska State Crime Detection Laboratory advised the Alaska State Troopers that there was a potential “match” in CODIS that linked the unknown male DNA profile collected from the victim’s sexual assault kit to a DNA sample collected from Andrew Byrd. AST investigators contacted Byrd, who denied knowing the victim or having sex with her. At trial, jurors heard testimony from the victim, who described the sexual assault, as well as from other witnesses and DNA analysts. Byrd also chose to testify.

The case was initially investigated by Alaska State Trooper Investigator Steve Kevan and later by SAKI Investigator Michael Burkmire. In 2023, Investigator Adam Hawkins became the lead investigator. All three investigators testified at the trial, along with members of the Alaska State Crime Lab and BODE Technologies. Assistant Attorney General Maggie Burgess of the Office of Special Prosecutions and Assistant District Attorney Zachary Reeder of the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case for the State.

The Department of Law thanks the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, and Bode Technologies for their partnership and dedication throughout the life of this case.

# # #

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.