(Anchorage, AK) – Last week, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton sentenced 27-year-old Kuach Chuol Kuach to serve 85 years for the murder of 22-year-old Devan McDonald on December 10, 2017.
In July 2023, an Anchorage jury found Kuach guilty of First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Murder, Tampering with Physical Evidence and Misconduct Involving Weapons in the third degree. At trial the evidence showed that on the morning of Dec. 10, 2017, Kuach shot McDonald, who was in still in bed from the previous night. Kuach immediately fled the scene and attempted to hide the murder weapon, which was found by a member of the community the following day. The weapon was then turned into the Anchorage Police Department. Kuach was also previously convicted of felony misconduct involving weapons in the third degree just eight months prior to the murder.
At sentencing, the second-degree murder conviction merged into a single conviction for first-degree murder. The court was permitted to sentence Kuach to a sentence of active imprisonment between 30 and 99 years. The State requested a sentence of 99 years with 20 years suspended on the first-degree murder. The State also requested a sentence of three years each for the tampering with physical evidence and misconduct involving weapons in third degree convictions. Kuach requested a sentence of 50 years with 15 years suspended. In an emotional victim impact statement, McDonald’s mother testified about the impact that losing her son on not only her life, but the life of her grandson.
Judge Wolverton commented that Kuach knew to a certainty he was not to possess a firearm under federal and state law. He further stated that McDonald was laying in his own bed in his own home, and Kuach, knowing he wasn’t supposed to possess a firearm, went to McDonald’s bedroom and assassinated McDonald. Judge Wolverton was persuaded by the State’s argument, finding and adopting the sentencing analysis proposed by the State.
Kuach was sentenced to 99 years with 20 years suspended on the first-degree murder, and 3 years each on the tampering with physical evidence and misconduct involving weapons in the third degree. Kuach’s composite sentence is 105 years with 20 years suspended. Upon release he will be on felony probation for 10 years.
This case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department’s homicide unit. Kuach is current in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.
