A Chignik Lake man who beat a friend to death with an ax during a drunken argument over who was the better fisherman was sentenced this week to serve 35 years in prison, according to the Anchorage district attorney.
Edwin Pedersen, 25, previously pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder in the death of his life-long friend, 22-year-old John Kalmakoff.
According to a troopers affidavit filed in court, troopers in Dillingham were called to Chignik Lake the morning of Aug. 14, 2009, by a health aide who had arrived at Pedersen's home to find Kalmakoff's bloodied body lying on the front porch.
Investigators found the porch, steps and walls splattered with blood and Kalmakoff's face battered, troopers investigator Shannon Fore wrote in the affidavit. He also had "massive black and blue bruising" on his neck that appeared to indicate he had been choked.
Troopers found an ax at the end of a hall inside Pedersen's home, its handle and flat edge covered in blood, according to Fore's affidavit.
In an initial interview with the village public safety officer, Pedersen, who had blood on his sweatpants and shoes, said, "I can't believe that I did this ... I can't believe I killed John," according to troopers. He told the officer that after the fight, he went to his grandparents' home, where he washed the blood off his hands and went to sleep until 7 a.m., when he returned home and learned that he had killed Kalmakoff, Fore wrote.
Troopers say Pedersen, Kalmakoff and a woman started partying about 9 p.m. Aug. 13 and that before the fight started about 2 a.m., the three drank nearly three full bottles of whiskey as well as smoked marijuana.
The woman told troopers that Pedersen and Kalmakoff began arguing about who was the better fisherman and who made more money in the fishing season that had just ended. As she and Kalmakoff tried to leave, Pedersen tried to pick a fight with him, she told troopers. The woman told troopers she went to the bathroom and emerged to find Pedersen choking a bloodied Kalmakoff, according to Fore's affidavit.
The woman screamed at Pedersen to stop and he pushed her off the porch, so she ran away to tell someone what was happening.
At his sentencing in Naknek on Monday, Pedersen said what he had done was unforgivable, according to prosecutors. Pedersen said he was sorry and that knew he caused a lot of pain but that he didn't mean to kill Kalmakoff.
"My client has almost no memory of what happened that night, and it's just unfortunate that a person can be in a black-out state of mind and do something like this that's not really a part of their normal make-up," said Pedersen's attorney, Rex Butler. "My client had no prior felonies and it's sad that we've got this kind of sentence, but it was negotiated."
Kalmakoff's family flew to Naknek to be at the sentencing and told the judge how painful it has been to lose a child, said assistant district attorney Clint Campion, who prosecuted the case.
Superior Court Judge Fred Torrisi noted the brutality of the murder and the fact that Pedersen has two prior misdemeanor convictions for assault in arriving at his sentence. He gave Pedersen 75 years in prison with 40 suspended, along with 10 years of probation.
Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com