Eric Rustad sentenced for January 2020 domestic violence murder

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Eric Rustad, the man who was convicted of the 2020 domestic violence murder of Kristen Huntington was sentenced in a Fairbanks courtroom by Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle on February 1, 2023.

The timeline of events that led to the arrest and conviction of Rustad are listed below.

January 10, 2020, one of Ms. Huntington’s friends reported her missing to the Fairbanks Police Department.
The following day, Rustad walked into the Fairbanks Police Department (FPD) with cuts on his arms and told officers “I know I did it.”
January 12, 2020, police found Ms. Huntington’s body wrapped in a blanket in the empty apartment across the hall from the one she shared with Rustad.
Rustad was arrested on Jan. 16, 2020.

Police release additional information in homicide of Fairbanks woman and Bail set at $1,000,000 for Eric Rustad provides detailed information that lead to the arrest and conviction of Rustad.

“Ms. Huntington died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head. She received two mortal injuries to the back of her head and had a serious laceration to the front of her head from Rustad’s brutal assault. Rustad and Ms. Huntington were in a romantic relationship that included previous incidents of domestic violence,” stated a department of law press release.

Judge Lyle conveyed “Rustad’s actions violated some of the most basic societal norms of family and bodily autonomy and that Rustad had a low rehabilitative potential.”

Rustad was sentenced to 50 years in jail with an additional 15 years suspended for a period of 10 years probation.