A man who long had been the suspect in the murder of a woman in Yakutat nearly 20 years ago has been sentenced to prison.
The Juneau Empire reports Sunday that Robert D. Kowalski was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison on Friday. Kowalski was convicted of killing 39-year-old Sandra Perry in 1996, shooting her with a shot gun during a dispute.
During the sentencing trail, Kowalski continued to say the shooting was an accident.
The 53-year-old was only charged with first-and second-degree murder in connection to Perry’s death because another one of his girlfriend’s died in a nearly identical fashion, causing the Yakutat case to be re-opened. Kowalski fatally shot 45-year-old Lorraine Kay Morin in Montana in 2008. Kowalski was convicted of homicide via an Alford Plea for Morin’s death.
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com
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