A man from the lower Yukon River community of Nunam Iqua has been sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for the death of a woman he told Alaska State Troopers fell from his snowmachine.
Twenty-six-year-old Fredrick Abraham was initially arrested in March 2024 and charged with criminally negligent homicide, alongside second-degree murder and multiple counts of felony assault in the death of 30-year-old Joan Camille. Abraham had been living with Camille in Nunam Iqua at the time of her death, according to court documents.
A sworn trooper statement on the investigation found Camille died at some point while traveling with Abraham to Nunam Iqua by snowmachine from a shopping trip in the nearby community of Emmonak on March 15, 2024. Early the following morning, Abraham showed up alone on foot in Nunam Iqua and reported Camille’s death to her family.
Abraham told troopers that Camille had fallen off his snowmachine while traveling at a high rate of speed. Abraham told troopers his snowmachine became stuck at some point after Camille fell off, and that he stayed with her at the scene until he determined she was going to die, at which point he returned to Nunam Iqua on foot.
Troopers say the initial investigation found inconsistencies between Abraham’s account of events and physical evidence along the trail between Emmonak and Nunam Iqua. An autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office revealed extensive injuries to Camille’s face and head “inconsistent with falling from a snow machine regardless of the vehicle’s speed,” according to the trooper statement.
On April 16, Abraham pleaded guilty through a plea agreement to one count of criminally negligent homicide. Bethel Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters sentenced Abraham to 10 years in prison.
