Two people have been sentenced to decades in prison for starting a 2017 fire that killed three people as it tore through a West Anchorage apartment complex.
The Alaska Department of Law said in a statement that Andrew Eknaty, 36, and Carleigh West, 35, were each sentenced Monday to 60 years and 20 days in prison, with 36 years suspended, in the deaths of Vivian Hall, Laura Kramer and Teuaililo Nua. The defendants, who were originally charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault charges in May.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, prosecutors said that Eknaty and West had driven drunk and evaded police early on Feb. 15, 2017. They then burned the car they had been driving in a carport at the Royal Suite Lodge off Minnesota Drive, forcing some residents of the 30-unit complex to jump from second-floor windows.
Nua died at the scene after following her daughters jumping from a window. Hall was found dead in one unit, with her roommate Kramer medevaced to Seattle where she died days later. Dozens of other people were left unhoused by the fast-moving blaze.
The statement said Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson, who handed down the sentence, noted that it “recognized the community condemnation” of Eknaty and West’s actions.
“At sentencing, several victims spoke regarding the continued trauma that they have incurred because of the defendants’ conduct,” prosecutors said.
After their release from prison, both Eknaty and West will spend 10 years on supervised felony probation.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
