Man sentenced for 2019 murder in Palmer motel

Martin Saccheus, 40, was sentenced to 65 years with 15 years suspended for the 2019 murder of his girlfriend Mingnuna Miller in a Palmer hotel. Saccheus faces 10 years of probation supervision upon release, state officials said.

“This was a domestic violence murder – unfortunately consistent with a trend in Alaska that women who are murdered are most commonly murdered by an intimate partner. Alaska Native women specifically suffer disproportionately higher rates of domestic violence. While these might be statistical realities, this behavior is not acceptable nor should it be normalized. This court’s sentence should demonstrate the community’s condemnation of the conduct and reject that it is consistent with our societal norms in the State of Alaska, Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Del Frate said during sentencing.

Palmer Superior Court Judge Kristin Stohler found that there was substantial evidence presented at trial that Miller died from strangulation, according to a press release issued by the state, and Saccheus has been on notice for at least 20 years that he misuses alcohol and is a threat to others when he consumes alcohol. The judge additionally found that Saccheus has not taken responsibility for his actions that caused Miller’s death, state officials said.

On Nov. 8, 2019, Palmer police officers responded to a motel in Palmer regarding a woman who was not breathing, according to court records. Life-saving measures were not successful and an autopsy was later performed. The medical examiner concluded that injuries on her body showed she died from strangulation, and investigation revealed that Saccheus had strangled Miller that night.

The case went to trial on May 28, 2024. On June 13, 2024 a jury in Palmer convicted Martin Saccheus of second-degree murder in the 2019 death of his girlfriend, Mingnuna Miller.