Bonnie Craig Killer Sentenced to 124 Years

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

Bonnie Craig's convicted killer, Kenneth Dion, was sentenced Monday afternoon to 124 years in prison.

Dion, now 42, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He was charged with and convicted of the rape and murder of Bonnie Craig, an 18-year-old UAA student who was found dead at McHugh Creek in September of 1994.

Dion's sentence of ninety-nine years, with none suspended, are for the murder, charge. Twenty-five years are for rape. Both sentences are the maximum for the crimes.

Prosecutors argued Craig was kidnapped, raped, beaten and then died after she fell from a cliff there.

Dion was arrested in 2006, after his DNA matched that discovered at the scene of Craig's death.

A jury found Dion guilty on all counts in June.

Prosecutors were asking the judge for the maximum sentence of 124 years.

Craig's family gave statements at the sentencing hearing. Her mother, Karen Foster, berated Dion for claiming innocence, calling him a "disgrace and a coward."

"As a Christian I must forgive you, but I'll never forget," Foster said, "you will rot in hell."

When prosecutors said Dion was not taking responsibility for his actions in this case, Dion called out, "and I never will! Because I didn't do it!" He declined to give any statements on his behalf. His attorneys asked Judge Jack Smith to be fair.

Smith said that rehabilitation should not be a prime focus of sentence, given Dion's prior criminal record. He said that isolation from society should be the main priority.