Fairbanks man sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder-for-hire plot

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - According to the Alaska Department of Justice, a Fairbanks man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for collaborating in a murder-for-hire plot against a former girlfriend.

Roger Keeling, 55, was handed a dozen years, plus three additional years of supervised release, by senior U.S. District Court judge Ralph R. Beistline for his role in stalking and attempting to kill a women he formerly dated. Keeling was indicted in January 2021 and convicted Aug. 13.

According to a Monday press release from the United State’s Attorney’s Office, Keeling physically, emotionally and mentally abused the victim, forcing her to leave him. He increased the intensity of his stalking, and in October 2021, he confronted her.

According to the release, Keeling “placed his hands around his girlfriend’s neck, told her he should rip her heart out and threatened to burn her house down”, eventually pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in state court for the incident.

Keeling’s girlfriend applied for and was granted a domestic violence protective order, and Keeling was arrested multiple times for violating the order, including slashing her tires, sending threatening emails from a different account and leaving “disturbing” handwritten notes along the route she jogged.

Keeling was arrested in December 2020 for stalking, and it was during his time in jail that he devised a plan with his cellmate to murder the woman. According to the release, Keeling agreed to play his cellmate $1,500 to arrange a hitman in the plot. After he was released, investigators with the Alaska State Troopers and FBI found evidence in his home that corroborated the plot, including a hand-drawn depiction of the victim’s house in flames.

If you are facing threatened or actual domestic violence, please discreetly call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis in Anchorage at 907-272-0100.