Crime & Courts

Man charged in death of Healy Lake woman

A 35-year-old man is accused of killing a woman in the small Interior community of Healy Lake.

Alaska State Troopers were called to the community, 25 miles east of Delta Junction, for a "disturbance involving a homicide" at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday.

"Investigation revealed Sidney Huntington had killed his girlfriend, identified as Melissa Erickson," age 43, troopers wrote in an online dispatch.

Erickson is listed as the president of the Healy Lake Traditional Council, according to a Fairbanks Daily News-Miner report and an online newsletter of the community. Her brother told the News-Miner he doubted the troopers' characterization of Erickson as Huntington's girlfriend.

Huntington was arrested and taken to the Fairbanks Correctional Center, troopers said.

He is charged with first degree murder.

Court records show he has open criminal cases pending for trespassing, indecent exposure and driving with a suspended license.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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