By Rhonda McBride and Chris Klint Channel 2 News KTUU

5:12 p.m. AKST, November 27, 2012
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

An Anchorage woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday for murdering her roommate with a shotgun in April 2011 at a Turnagain home.

Berne Marie Peterson was initially charged with first-degree and second-degree murder in the April 20, 2011 death of 58-year-old Colleen Fukuda.

Police say Peterson was 66 when she drank some rum and beer, then got into a dispute with Fukuda. Peterson, who has trouble walking, became angry with Fukuda for not helping her to the bathroom and shot Fukuda in the head with a shotgun, possibly while she was sleeping.

Peterson told responding officers that the shooting occurred during an argument between her and Fukuda, when the shotgun “just went off” according to charging documents.

Peterson will have to serve eight years and four months of her sentence before she becomes eligible for parole.

Contact Rhonda McBride and Chris Klint