On Friday, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson handed down a sentence of 40 years in prison against  57-year-old Gilbert Dugaqua for the October 2019 murder of his roommate 59-year-old Teodoro F. Berdan after being convicted of two counts of murder in the second degree and one count of manslaughter by an Anchorage jury in September. The jury deliberated for only five hours before handing down their decision.

It was on just after midnight on October 3rd, 2019 that Dugaqua reported a disturbance in his home and that someone was badly injured. When police arrived, they found Berdan deceased and a female suffering serious injuries. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Detectives opened a homicide investigation that found Dugaqua had “Dugaqua beat and kicked Berdan to death using steel-toed boots and a wooden rod.” Dugaqua claimed self-defense.

Judge Peterson, at sentencing, said “Dugaqua has no prospects for rehabilitation, and that isolation from the community is necessary to prevent him from reoffending.”

Dugaqua was on probation in a pending federal court case at the time of the incident.

  2019, Alaska, Anchorage, gilbert dugaqua, murder, sentencing, teodoro berdan