Fairbanks man receives 45-year sentence for 2019 murder

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - 31-year-old Kelly Sweetsir, of Fairbanks, was sentenced on Wednesday, Aug. 30, to 45 years imprisonment for the murder of his estranged girlfriend in 2019.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Amy Welch indicated that “the need to isolate the defendant from the community was high,” that “the viciousness of this crime cannot be overstated,” and that “the court needs to send a message that there is no excuse for domestic violence.”

Troopers were contacted on August 9, 2019, by Sweetsir’s mother, about a possible murder. His mother stated the defendant’s girlfriend was last seen in the garage.

The girlfriend died from numerous stab wounds.

Sweetsir, a diagnosed schizophrenic who was off his medication, told troopers upon being interviewed that voices in his head urged him to kill his girlfriend.

Sweetsir entered a plea of guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree in September of 2022, and per a partial plea agreement with the state faced a sentencing range of 30 to 60 years.

Sweetsir is currently in custody at the Fairbanks Correctional Center and will not be eligible for discretionary parole until serving at least 30 years of his sentence.

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