1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: For twelve years, Signs hung all over Anchorage asking who 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: killed Bonnie Craig. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 2: There's signs on all the buses, there was signs on benches, 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:12,960 Speaker 2: there was fires. 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: With no arrest. The victim's mother lost hope. 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 3: It wasn't investigated real well. They don't have a lot 7 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 3: of evidence. 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,479 Speaker 1: And then finally the suspect turned up in a prison 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: some forty five hundred miles away. But did he kill Bonnie? 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 2: This man stands up and starts yelling at Bonnie's family 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 2: that they're all liars and that he didn't do anything. 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: The only evidence was a drop of blood and some DNA. 13 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: Would it be enough to get a conviction? It's always 14 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: a crap shoot. 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 3: All you need is one juror who could end up 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 3: throwing the case. 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: Today we're an Anchorage, Alaska for the conclusion of some 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: one is getting away with murder. I'm Sloan Glass and 19 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: this is American homicide. Just a note that this episode 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: contained some graphic content. Please take care while listening. Bonnie 21 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: Craig was an eighteen year old college freshman at the 22 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: University of Alaska in Anchorage. On the morning of September 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, nineteen ninety four, Bonnie headed to class that afternoon. 24 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: Bonnie was dead. Her body was found floating in a 25 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: creek inside of a state park some ten miles from campus. 26 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 4: Those moments, it's etched in my brain and you don't 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 4: forget something like that. 28 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: That's Bonnie's friend, Amy Navotney. 29 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 4: How could this happen to somebody like Bonnie? It didn't 30 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 4: seem real. It didn't seem real at all. 31 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: After first calling Bonnie's death a hiking accident, Alaska State 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: troopers later ruled it a homicide. 33 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 4: I don't recall anybody ever thinking it was an accident. 34 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 4: Just didn't make sense. 35 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: You can learn a lot about Bonnie Craig by looking 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: at her college schedule. While most college freshmen were asleep 37 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: at seven am, Bonnie was already in class. Her friends 38 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: and family said, if you believed Bonnie willingly skipped school 39 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: to go hiking, you didn't know Bonnie. 40 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 4: Bonnie was very reliable and she wouldn't have missed school. 41 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: The fact that her body turned up more than ten 42 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: miles from her home raised plenty of questions. 43 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 4: Bonnie didn't drive, that's quite a ways away from where 44 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 4: she lived, or from the. 45 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: University, and if she walked. 46 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 4: It would take probably, you know, several hours to walk 47 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 4: to mc que Creek from her home. 48 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: Bonnie exclusively took the bus to campus. None of those 49 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: buses went to McHugh Creek. 50 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 4: Just a lot of unanswered questions. At that point, something 51 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 4: was definitely wrong. 52 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: Investigators later revealed that Bonnie not only was murdered, but 53 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:10,679 Speaker 1: also had been sexually assaulted. Even with that DNA evidence, 54 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: twelve years went by without an arrest. 55 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 4: How come nobody's coming forward? Somebody knows something? Is this 56 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 4: ever going to get figured out? 57 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: Every new promising lead fizzled out, leaving Bonnie's family and 58 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: friends feeling uneasy. 59 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 4: What's scary? You know, scary? And that went on for 60 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 4: a lot of years. You know, every year, I think 61 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 4: it got a little bit more difficult. 62 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: At the forefront of the investigation was Bonnie's fierce and 63 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: strong willed mother, Karen. She gave frequent press conferences and 64 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: was responsible for putting up all those signs throughout Anchorage 65 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: that said who killed Bonnie and someone is getting away 66 00:03:57,880 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: with murder. 67 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 4: Karen ver determined person she was going to get to 68 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 4: the bottom of it. 69 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: As Amy and Bonnie's other friends graduated college, got married 70 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: and had children. They couldn't help, but wonder what if. 71 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 4: Definitely every year kind of just breaks your heart and 72 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 4: you kind of think of all the amazing things that 73 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 4: Bonnie would have amounted to, places that she would have gone, 74 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 4: you know, the family that she could have started, and 75 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 4: just live in life like the rest of us. Those 76 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 4: things go through your mind every year. 77 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: Bonnie Craig was killed in nineteen ninety four. It wasn't 78 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: until two thousand and six when police had a man 79 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: in custody in New Hampshire. 80 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 4: That was one of the best days. I think. I 81 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 4: cried tears of joy. They finally had who was responsible 82 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 4: for taking such a wonderful person away from so many people. 83 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: This aspect was a thirty seven year old former Alaska 84 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: resident named Kenneth Dion. 85 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 4: The name makes me utterly sick to my stomach. 86 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: At early sick, So who is Kenneth Dion. At the 87 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: time of his arrest, he was serving time in a 88 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: New Hampshire prison for armed robbery Back in nineteen ninety four. 89 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: Kenneth was twenty five years old and living in Anchorage. 90 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 5: Like a lot of people that end up in Alaska, 91 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 5: Kenneth Dion was stationed here in the military. 92 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: Journalist Casey Grove covered the story. 93 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 5: At some point divorced his wife or she divorced him, 94 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 5: and he apparently was into crime. 95 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: Kenneth was discharged from the military and later served some 96 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: time for a string of robberies. Just two months before 97 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: Bonnie's murder, Kenneth was released from prison in Alaska and 98 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: placed on probation. He then violated his parole and was 99 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,119 Speaker 1: sent back to prison. After his release in nineteen ninety six, 100 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: Alaska for New Hampshire, where he got into more trouble. 101 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 5: He had been addicted to oxy conton committed a string 102 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 5: of armed burglaries. He was serving time for that, and 103 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 5: they collected his DNA under this mandatory program. 104 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: In two thousand and six, an Alaska lab worker did 105 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: a weekly check of the code AS system. That's when 106 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: Kenneth Dion's DNA matched the DNA found in Bonnie. 107 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,480 Speaker 5: New Hampshire was one of like a handful of states 108 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 5: at the time that had mandatory DNA collection for violent crime. 109 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 5: They would not have caught him if not for that 110 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 5: law in New Hampshire. 111 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: Alaska investigators immediately flew out to New Hampshire and questioned Kenneth. 112 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 5: You know, the investigators didn't just come out and say, hey, 113 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 5: we think you killed this girl. 114 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: What these two Alaska State troopers did do was put 115 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: on a clinic on how to interrogate a suspect. 116 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 5: They first asked him, you know, when he was in 117 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 5: Alaska and why he was in Alaska, and he talk 118 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 5: wasn't with the military, and he kind of mentioned that 119 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 5: he was into martial arts, and somehow that came up. 120 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 5: He was like a black belt in karate. 121 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 3: I think. 122 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 6: I had noon chalks, you know, three sectional staffs. I 123 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 6: had all kinds of things because I'm a fifth degree 124 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 6: black belt. 125 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 5: So you can hear he's got this kind of like 126 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 5: New Englander accent that I wasn't expecting. 127 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: Along with his thick accent. Kenneth had red hair and 128 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: stood around five feet ten inches tall. He told the 129 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: troopers he grew up fighting his whole life, and then 130 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: the topic turned to Bonnie. 131 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 6: There's a pretty pretty high profile case. 132 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 7: So did you read the news or listen to the news, 133 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 7: read the newspaper, bet and that back then? 134 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, all the time. 135 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 7: Okay, you may you've probably heard about about the situation 136 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 7: then about a young girl named Bonnie Craig. 137 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 6: Bonnie Craig, eighteen year old college student. 138 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 5: I can't rega, I can't remember she's this, you know, 139 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 5: this teenage girl? Do you know her? And he said no, 140 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 5: did you. 141 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 6: Ever meet someone called Bonnie or anything like that? I 142 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 6: have no idea. 143 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 5: And then finally, you know, they they show him this 144 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 5: picture of Bonnie Craig and ask him if he knows her. 145 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 6: She's an eighteen year old college student, lived in South Anchorage. 146 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 6: She left her home around you know, five ten, five 147 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 6: twenty in the morning. I had to go catch your 148 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 6: boss off Lake Oders. 149 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 5: I think when the investigators sort of first presented this 150 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 5: photo of Bonnie Craig to Kenneth Dion, it was have 151 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 5: you ever met this girl? He said no, you'd never 152 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 5: seen her before, and then they left it sitting there, 153 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 5: maybe as advice to see what his reaction was. Over time. 154 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 6: Did you ever. 155 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 7: Recall maybe you know maiden or through somewhere else, one 156 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 7: of your friends or anything? 157 00:08:58,360 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 6: Eighteen years old? 158 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 5: Oh no, my wife would have killed me, he said, no. 159 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 5: You know, if I had known her, I've been hanging 160 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 5: out with her. My wife would have killed me, you know, 161 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,559 Speaker 5: because he was married at the time. I think it's 162 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 5: worth pointing out too that anybody who had been around 163 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 5: at that time would have seen this picture or a 164 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 5: picture of Bonnie Craig, even people that don't follow the 165 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 5: news very closely, would have seen these posters and would 166 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 5: have seen these photos on the side of a bus. 167 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 7: You know. 168 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 5: So for him to have said he had never seen 169 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 5: her before just seemed implausible. 170 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: That's when the troopers flipped the script. 171 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 7: And a sad thing about it. Later on that day, 172 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 7: her body was found at the Q Creek. WHOA, WHOA, WHOA? 173 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 6: What are you trying to say? 174 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 5: He says something along the lines of what are you 175 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 5: guys trying to say here? Like why are you here 176 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 5: talking to me about her? 177 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 6: Your name has come up, you know, like hundreds of names. 178 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 6: Why would my name come up? That's what I'm trying 179 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 6: to figure out. You know, you say you didn't have 180 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 6: no association with her. You know, that's good. You know, 181 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:01,679 Speaker 6: I'm trying to I'm just trying to get clarifying you own. 182 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 5: And of course it's hard to get around the fact 183 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 5: that his DNA was found inside of her and she 184 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 5: was dead. There was just some good police work that 185 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 5: had to be done. To really nail this guy down, 186 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 5: and they did it. 187 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: Alaska State troopers charged Kenneth Dion was sexually assaulting and 188 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: murdering Bonnie Craig. Another five years would pass before Kenneth 189 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: Dion stood trial. By then, a key piece of evidence 190 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: would go missing and would impact the integrity of the investigation. 191 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: Bonnie Craig was eighteen years old when she was mysteriously 192 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: found dead in a creek several miles from her home 193 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: and college. In twenty eleven, Some seventeen years later, her 194 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: accused killer, Kenneth Dion, was on trial for murder. 195 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 5: I would have been twelve years old when this happened, 196 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 5: and you know, I think I was maybe thirty or 197 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 5: something like by the time this went on trial. 198 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: Journalist Casey Grove wrote about the case. 199 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 5: I've thought about that a lot. I mean, the amount 200 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 5: of time that went by from when she was killed 201 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 5: to when Kenneth Dion went on trial was almost as 202 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 5: long as she. 203 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: Had been alive that time. Difference became obvious when prosecutor 204 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: showed pictures of Bonnie during the. 205 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 5: Trial, like just the way that she was dressed, tapered jeans, 206 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 5: you know, back in the nineties and her hair was 207 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 5: kind of in a holdover from the eighties, kind of 208 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 5: like that feathered somewhat bigger hair than people wear nowadays. 209 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 5: It was kind of a throwback to that time too, 210 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 5: where people didn't have a phone in their pocket to 211 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 5: take pictures of everything, so like a lot of the 212 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 5: photos were sort of like school photos or you know, 213 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 5: family photos from gatherings and things like that. 214 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: On the other side of the courtroom sat Kenneth Dion, 215 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: whose red hair wasn't the only feature that's it out. 216 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 5: He actually had knuckle tattoos that said lost soul, it 217 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 5: lost on one hand and sol on the other hand 218 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 5: on his knuckles tattooed. I've covered cases where they actually 219 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 5: use makeup to cover the tattoos up so that the 220 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 5: person looks better maybe to the jury. 221 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: Prosecutors explained to the jury that this lost soul was 222 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: responsible for killing and sexually assaulting Bonnie Craig. 223 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 5: There's a direct line there between him and her, and 224 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 5: it's impossible to get around that. But I think the 225 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 5: theory of what actually happened when Bonnie was murdered was 226 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 5: kind of muddy, or at least took a lot of 227 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 5: filling in of the blanks. 228 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: There were no eyewitnesses to the crime, so the defense 229 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: adopted the original theory from the Alaska State Troopers that 230 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: Bonnie fell in a hiking accident, but with a twist. 231 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 5: These two people had consensual sex and then you know, 232 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 5: one of them just sort of fell off a cliff 233 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:05,439 Speaker 5: and died accidentally. 234 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: The defense reiterated to the jurors what the police first 235 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: told Bonnie's mother. 236 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:16,839 Speaker 5: The defense attorney he asked, well, so could somebody fall 237 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 5: off a cliff and strike their genitals in this case, 238 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 5: on a sharp rock, and would that produce the kind 239 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 5: of injuries that you're saying are evidence of sexual assault. 240 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 5: This is in front of Bonnie's mom and sister and 241 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 5: her other family, and just about everybody just kind of 242 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 5: like rolled their eyes, you know, like how I could 243 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,199 Speaker 5: even say that, and you know what. 244 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: I feel the same way. What the defense is proposing 245 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: happened to Bonnie is unbelievable. After the defense floated alternative theories, 246 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: prosecutors pointed the finger directly at the defendant. 247 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 5: Bonnie was walking to the bus stop, and the prosecution 248 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 5: theory was that Kenneth Dion saw her and somehow got 249 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 5: her into his vehicle. He, you know, sexually assaulted her 250 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 5: at some point, possibly at McHugh Creek, struck her at 251 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 5: the top of this cliff, And that was based on 252 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 5: a single drop of blood on a leaf that the 253 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 5: crime scene investigators found that was Bonnie's blood and then 254 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 5: pushed her into the creek down, I mean down this 255 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 5: cliff is pretty steep, big cliff, down into the creek, 256 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 5: and that he then scrambled down there to finish her off, 257 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 5: was what the prosecutor said. 258 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: Bonnie took at least a dozen blows to the head, 259 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 1: and prosecutors believe Kenneth Dion used a weapon for the 260 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: fatal blow. 261 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 5: They believed that Kenneth Eon had killed Bonnie Craig by 262 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 5: hitting her in the back of the head with like nunchucks. 263 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 1: Prosecutors leaned heavily into that interrogation tape of Kenneth Dion 264 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: where he admitted to being into martial arts. 265 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 5: They knew that he had these martial arts weapons like 266 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 5: nunchucks and those kind of things. 267 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: But the defense said if Bonnie was murdered, there would 268 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: have been blood everywhere on the side of the cliff, 269 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: not just the one drop they found on a leaf. 270 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: And as for Kenneth's DNA. 271 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 5: The defense attorney he insinuated that Bonnie might have been 272 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 5: promiscuous and might have had consensual sex with Kenneth Dion. 273 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: The defense argued Kenneth and Bonnie had sex in the 274 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: week leading up to her death, but remember Bonnie had 275 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: a long distance boyfriend at the time. 276 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 5: Bonnie's boyfriend at the time was brought back, you know, 277 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 5: seventeen years later for this trial and testified. 278 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: Bonnie's boyfriend, Cameron, was thirty four years old at the 279 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: time of the trial. He testified how Bonnie was his 280 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: first girlfriend and said the two had plans to marry. 281 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 5: Everything that the boyfriend said about her and about their 282 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 5: reallyf reationship was not in agreement with the idea that 283 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 5: she could have been sleeping with other guys. They talked 284 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 5: on the phone all the time. They had like promise 285 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 5: rings that they were wearing. They thought that they were 286 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 5: going to get married and have a happy little life 287 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 5: with each other and go off and do great things. 288 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: Cameron told the room that he and Bonnie spent there 289 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: last night together before he went away to school. It 290 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: happened in July of nineteen ninety four on the rocks 291 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: near Mchew Creek, the same place her body was later found. 292 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 5: It was very sad to see her boyfriend on the 293 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 5: stand talking about what had been such a beautiful thing 294 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 5: in their lives, their love for each other. 295 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: Testifying about his last night with Bonnie became too much 296 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: for Cameron. 297 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 5: They paused his testimony at one point. They just kind 298 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 5: of overcome with the grief, and he went out in 299 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 5: the hallway in the courthouse and just kind of walked 300 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 5: up and down the hallway and kind of gathered himself. 301 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: After that emotional testimony, prosecutors played the interrogation tape of 302 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: Kenneth Dion. 303 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 7: You've probably heard about their situation about a young girl 304 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 7: named Bonnie Craig. 305 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 6: I can't go, I can't remember. 306 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 5: They're very clearly trying to pin him down on oh, 307 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 5: you don't know her, Okay, how'd your DNA get inside 308 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 5: of her? You know, never seen her face before. Well, later, 309 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 5: when you try to claim that you had consensual sext 310 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 5: with her, that's not going to make any sense. 311 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 1: Kenneth Dion never took the stand in his own defense. 312 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: He simply jotted down notes and made frequent eye contact 313 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: with Bonnie's mother, Karen. 314 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,199 Speaker 3: He looked at us very angry a couple times, and 315 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 3: it was seeing the face of evil. 316 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: Other witnesses from Kenneth's past also testified about his dark side. 317 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 3: We had more than one woman on the stands and 318 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 3: he had abused her, and I mean even his wife 319 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 3: ex wife at that time, had to testify about him 320 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 3: and his abuse and his drug abuse. 321 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 1: Things were looking good for the prosecution until something happened 322 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: to a key piece of evidence. Back on the afternoon 323 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: of Bonnie's death in nineteen ninety four, investigators used a 324 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: camcorder to record footage at the crime scene, but suddenly 325 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: that tape was missing. 326 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 5: You know, ultimately just it was an important piece of 327 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,360 Speaker 5: the whole story. But the video from the murder scene 328 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 5: never showed up. 329 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: Journalist Casey Grove I. 330 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 5: Don't remember ever hearing a good explanation for why the 331 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 5: video was lost. The most detail about that was just 332 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 5: it had been checked out of the evidence for the 333 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 5: case and not returned. 334 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: The defense attacked investigators for losing a key piece of evidence, 335 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: but then on the second day of the trial, prosecutors 336 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 1: approached the judge. They explained that the missing tape had 337 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: mysteriously resurfaced that was bizarre. Suddenly the trial came to 338 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: a screeching halt. 339 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 5: The fact that this video surfaced right after the trial started. Basically, 340 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 5: I mean the defense of course fought that, vigorously fought 341 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 5: that being admitted as evidence. 342 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: The judge stopped the trial for both sides to argue 343 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: whether to admit the video. 344 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 3: I was with fear that he could walk. 345 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: Not knowing what that meant for the trial threw Bonnie's mother, 346 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:43,480 Speaker 1: Karen into a panic. 347 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 3: It wasn't investigated real well. They don't have a lot 348 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 3: of evidence. All you need is one juror who could 349 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 3: end up throwing the case. 350 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: Suddenly, the slam Dune case against Kenneth Dion took a turn. 351 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, are we going to be able to 352 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:03,160 Speaker 3: get a conviction. 353 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: Kenneth Dion is on trial for the nineteen ninety four 354 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: murder of Bonnie Craig. But there's a problem. A videotape 355 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:25,479 Speaker 1: of the crime scene that Alaska State troopers took was missing. 356 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 5: Seventeen years had gone by since the murder, and then 357 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 5: this thing with this video comes up. 358 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: Journalist Casey Grove covered the trial. 359 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 5: It's supposed to be you know, like the first day 360 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,880 Speaker 5: of testimony, and they paused the trial for a week. 361 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: The videotape disappeared and then reappeared two days into the trial, 362 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: and after much debate, the judge allowed prosecutors to admit 363 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: it into evidence. 364 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 5: It shot on like a VHS cassette tape with grainy 365 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 5: like home video footage kind of looked to it. 366 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: As the dated footage flickered on the television screen, the 367 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: jurors leaned in to get their first look at the 368 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 1: crime scene. 369 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 5: This video, I like, really put you at that scene 370 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 5: at that time. You know, the leaves were all yellow 371 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 5: and things were kind of changing towards fall. The moss 372 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 5: or the lichen is kind of starting to turn red. 373 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 5: It's very colorful. 374 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 1: The beauty of Alaska's changing seasons was broken by what 375 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 1: showed up next on the videotape. 376 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 5: These investigators wearing like hip waiters, are wading out to 377 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,199 Speaker 5: the body and they flip it over and you can 378 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 5: see her face and it's just very like pale white. 379 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 5: For Karen Bonnie's mom, it was tough because she had 380 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 5: never seen that. 381 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,400 Speaker 1: As you can imagine, seeing this footage of her daughter's 382 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: body floating lifeless Inmchu Creek was tough to see for 383 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,639 Speaker 1: Karen showed a part of the investigation she had not 384 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: been privy to for the first time. 385 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 3: I'm finding out what they did when they arrived there. 386 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,959 Speaker 3: When of the Alaska State troopers he had called on 387 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 3: his knees down paths looking for any kind of evidence, 388 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 3: He found just one leaf with a drop of blood 389 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 3: that they later determined was Bonnie's blood. 390 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:31,199 Speaker 1: That video showed that one leaf that troopers found that 391 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: contained Bonnie's blood. 392 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 3: That was crucial to find that leaf with that one 393 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 3: drop of blood because that proved that Bonnie was injured 394 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 3: before she went over into the water below. 395 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: Karen hoped that video would help disprove the defense's theory 396 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: that Bonnie fell to her death. 397 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 3: The defense immediately said, well, and how she had all 398 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 3: these headed, there would have been blood everywhere. The prosecutor 399 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:10,959 Speaker 3: in rebuttals said that there was no blood anywhere because 400 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 3: Bonnie went over the cliff and Kenneth Dion ran down 401 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 3: the side of that cliff and got Bonnie and hit 402 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 3: her with the numbchucks while she was in the water, 403 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 3: again and again and again until she was lifeless. 404 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: In other words, the only blood would have been in 405 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: the creek. 406 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 3: It had all washed away except for that one drop 407 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 3: of blood that they found, and it was Bonnie's. 408 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: The jury agreed with the prosecutor's argument. They found Kenneth 409 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: Dion guilty sexually assaulting and murdering Bonnie Craig. 410 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:02,959 Speaker 8: We cried, We all cried, d burn It was a 411 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 8: better sweet victory to know he's not getting away with 412 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 8: murder anymore. 413 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: Kenneth Dion never took the stand, but he broke his 414 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: silence at the sentencing hearing. 415 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 3: He had a couple of outbursts. He would lose it. 416 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 4: You know. 417 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:25,360 Speaker 1: Twice. At his sentencing hearing, Kenneth Dion shouted towards the prosecutor. 418 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 1: He said he would never admit to killing Bonnie because 419 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: he didn't do it. But his outbursts didn't spare him. 420 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:38,360 Speaker 1: The judge sentenced Kenneth Dion to one hundred twenty four years. 421 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: He won't be eligible for parole until twenty fifty, when 422 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: he's eighty one years old. 423 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,880 Speaker 3: He's going to be spending one hundred and twenty four 424 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 3: years in jail. He's never going to get the opportunity 425 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 3: to kill another child. 426 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 1: Throughout the investigation, Karen was critical of Alaska state troopers. 427 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: She was further incensed when she learned what happened in 428 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,679 Speaker 1: New Hampshire in two thousand and three. Kenneth Dion was 429 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: incarcerated in New Hampshire, but his DNA wasn't collected until 430 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and five, and it wasn't until two thousand 431 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,680 Speaker 1: and six when his DNA was entered into the CODA system. 432 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 3: Thing a furious about the fact that they hadn't bothered 433 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 3: to input his DNA into codis our criminal national database. 434 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 1: Think about that Bonnie's murder could have been solved years 435 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: earlier if Kenneth Dion's DNA was collected on time. 436 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:50,920 Speaker 3: That's when I went after the media again and called 437 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 3: all of the legislators and the representatives and let them 438 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 3: know that we need to change the law. 439 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: In two thousand and two, New Hampshire became one of 440 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 1: only a handful of states with a law allowing DNA 441 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: to be collected from state prisoners convicted of violent crimes. 442 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: Karen wanted Alaska lawmakers to pass a similar law. 443 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 3: We pushed bar it and within sixty days they were 444 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 3: signed by the governor. In law, Alaska is number seven 445 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 3: to start collecting DNA on all felony arrests. 446 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: Thanks to Karen's lobbying, Alaska law now requires DNA samples 447 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: from suspects arrested for a violent crime like robbery, domestic violence, 448 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: or sexual assault. The swabs then get sent to the 449 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,959 Speaker 1: state crime lab, where the DNA can be matched against 450 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,680 Speaker 1: evidence from cold cases and kept on file to aid 451 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: in future cases. 452 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 3: This guy had been in jail two months before he 453 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 3: murdered Bonnie, out on bail when he murdered to her, 454 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 3: and then back in jail two months after. If they 455 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,399 Speaker 3: had had collection of DNA on arrest, they would have 456 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,160 Speaker 3: known right from the get go. We wouldn't have had 457 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 3: to wait months years. It could have been solved in weeks. Instead, 458 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 3: it was seventeen year saga trying to get him convicted. 459 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: As of twenty twenty four, Alaska is now one of 460 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 1: at least thirty one states that requires DNA samples to 461 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: be collected upon arrest or when criminal charges are filed 462 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: against a person. But the program isn't without its critics. 463 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 3: The people scream and say, oh, you know, we're innocent 464 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 3: till proven guilty. Well, it's not that it's proven you guilty, 465 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,680 Speaker 3: just to have your DNA there. All it does is 466 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 3: identify the person. You still have to prove the case 467 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 3: when they take the mud shots, when they take the fingerprints, 468 00:27:53,720 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 3: get that DNA, collect DNA on arrest. It's crucial to justice. 469 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: It's a simple concept in theory, but the program isn't 470 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: without its flaws. A twenty twenty pro Publica article reported 471 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 1: that Alaska continues to be one of many states with 472 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: a long backlog of uncollected and or unprocessed DNA, despite 473 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: the program's words, Karen considers the law a critical tool 474 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 1: for investigators and the families of victims. 475 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 3: And in Bonnie's case, we turn tragedy into triumph by 476 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 3: getting these laws changed and knowing that because of Bonnie's murder, 477 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 3: they will be spared being a victim because of the 478 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:44,960 Speaker 3: DNA laws that have changed. 479 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: Nearly a decade after Bonnie's murderer was convicted, her close 480 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: friend Amy still couldn't find closure. She had to confront 481 00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: a place that was meaningful to the two of them, 482 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 1: a Q Creek. 483 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 4: Last summer was the first time I actually went there. 484 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: Amy returned to the place where Bonnie's body was discovered, 485 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: and she didn't go alone. 486 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 4: My youngest daughter had went there with me. She hugged me, 487 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 4: and you know, I just needed to just let me 488 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 4: sit here and just just think. I definitely shed some tears, 489 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 4: a little emotional just being there. 490 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: Amy had come to the realization that Bonnie's death affected 491 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: the way she parents her own children. 492 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 4: So it made me a little overprotective as a parent, 493 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 4: not wanting to leave my kids, needing to know everywhere 494 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 4: they're going, just because there's really there's a lot of 495 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 4: monsters in this world, and it scares it scares you. 496 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:54,080 Speaker 4: Like I said, never would have thought something like that 497 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 4: would have happened to Bonnie, And if it happened to her, 498 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 4: it could happen to anybody. So yeah, less definitely it's 499 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 4: changed me or shaped me to be the parent that 500 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 4: I am. 501 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,960 Speaker 1: That afternoon at the creek, Amy said she sent something. 502 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 4: Sunbeams were shining down. They actually kind of feel her 503 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 4: presence there almost. 504 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 1: Next time, on American Homicide, a hiker sets up camp 505 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: and a dead body is found, but the hiker claims 506 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: he had nothing to do with the murder. Wool had 507 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: to whirl to Lita, Alaska for the case of the 508 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: Mountain Man murders. I'm slung glass and that's. 509 00:30:47,120 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 9: Next Time on American Homicide. 510 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: You can contact the American Homicide team by emailing us 511 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: at American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com. That's American 512 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,120 Speaker 1: Homicide Pod at gmail dot com. American Homicide is hosted 513 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: and written by me Sloane Glass and is a production 514 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in 515 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by 516 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: Nancy Glass and Todd Gants. The series is also written 517 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,640 Speaker 1: and produced by Todd Gantz, with additional writing by Ben 518 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate producer is Kristin Melcurie. 519 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crimecheck. Audio editing, 520 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: mixing and mastering by Nico Ruka. American Homicide theme song 521 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: was composed by Oliver Baines of Noisier Music Library provided 522 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 1: by my Music. Follow American Homicide on Apple Podcasts, and 523 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: please rate and review American Homicide. Your five star review 524 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: goes a long way towards helping others find this show. 525 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 526 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.