An Oregon man convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl in Alaska in 1978 was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison.
Donald McQuaid, 67, told Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson that he is innocent and did not kill Shelly Connolly, the Anchorage Daily News reported. McQuaid was found guilty in December of murder in the 1978 death of Connolly, whose body was found near an exit on the Anchorage-Girtwood highway.
Oregon man arrested in 1978 attempted murder of Alaska teen, authorities say
Mr McQuaid said he intended to appeal the conviction.
An Oregon man convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl in Alaska in 1978 has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. (Fox News)
Years after Connolly’s death, investigators created a DNA profile from swabs taken from Connolly’s body, and in 2019 they compiled the DNA profile into a family tree database to find people who shared the same genetic information. They turned to genetic genealogy tests to compare known profiles. DNA testing was conducted to show that Mr. McQuaid matched the DNA profile, and Oregon State Police obtained the DNA by collecting cigarette butts that Mr. McQuaid had discarded in public.
Assistant Attorney General Erin McCarthy wrote in a sentencing memorandum that there was no indication that Mr. McQuaid knew Mr. Connolly before his death.
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Prosecutors said the latest sentence provides some closure for his friends and family. Connolly’s mother died before a resolution could be found.
Mr. Peterson acknowledged that any sentence for Mr. McQuaid would likely be life in prison. McQuaid’s attorney, Benjamin Dresner, said McQuaid is in remission from advanced liver cancer. Dresdner asked that McQuaid receive the minimum sentence, which is 20 years in prison.
