What did Kenneth Dion do? Details about Crime Junkie podcast subject explored

Kenneth Dion is recognized as the murderer of the unfortunate 18-year-old college student Bonnie Craig who was abducted and killed in 1994. In 2011, he was finally convicted for her murder after an investigation spanning many years and was given a life imprisonment sentence amounting to 124 years in prison. Up to this date, he remains imprisoned without a parole possibility for over a few decades.

The case of Bonnie's murder was explored in detail in The CrimeJunkie podcast episode titled MURDERED: Bonnie Craig. The episode aired on January 29, 2025, on their website. The official synopsis reads,

"When a driven young woman is found dead after a fall from a 30- to 40-foot cliff in Alaska, her mom is forced to fight to convince law enforcement what she knows in her heart – that her daughter’s death was no accident."

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What happened to Bonnie?

According to ADN, Bonnie Craig was abducted on September 28, 1994, on her way to class at the University of Alaska Anchorage, from a bus stop in South Anchorage. CBS News said she was last seen leaving her home around 5 a.m., but never made it to her classes that day.

According to ADN, that afternoon, a hiker found her body submerged in McHugh Creek. The crime shocked the community with its brutal nature as Bonnie was r*ped and then battered before she was left to die. According to CBS News, the case remained cold for more than two decades, until in 2006, DNA revealed that Kenneth Dion was the culprit linked to the crime scene.

At the time, he had been serving time at a New Hampshire state prison on armed robbery charges. His DNA matched samples taken from Craig's body. The details of Bonnie's death were gruesome and prosecutors report that she suffered multiple blows to the head, indicating a violent struggle before her death.

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Conviction and legal proceedings

According to ADN, Kenneth Dion's trial began in June 2011 following charges of murder in the first degree and r*pe. The trial lasted for 21 days and testimonies included graphic details surrounding the crime committed and how Craig's family was affected by it. The prosecutors described this as a well-planned assault, citing evidence that Dion sought to conceal as he had left Bonnie's body in a creek.

According to CBS News, in October 2011, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts. Judge Jack Smith sentenced Dion to a total of 124 years—99 years for first-degree murder and an additional 25 years for first-degree s*xual assault. At the sentencing hearing, Craig's family testified to their grief and anger toward Kenneth Dion.

Her sister referred to him as "a heartless, soulless coward," and her mother spoke about the emotional toll Bonnie's murder had taken on their family. According to CBS News, Kenneth Dion remained in denial during the trial and sentencing, stating that he did not commit the crime.

His outbursts in court indicated frustration with the judicial process. However, Judge Smith thought that Craig's murder was so brutal that it deserved a severe sentence because it fell into the category of a "worst offense" under Alaska law.

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Where is Kenneth Dion now?

According to Alaska Public, as of now, the specific prison location where Kenneth Dion is incarcerated is not publicly disclosed. Still, it is public information that he serves his 124-year sentence in the Alaska prison system, having been convicted for Bonnie Craig's murder in 2011.

On his first-degree murder conviction, Dion received 99 years with a further 25 years for the first-degree s*xual assault; however, he cannot get parole until at least 2050, as reported by Anchorage Daily News.

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Dion's case continues to attract public attention, and there have been features on podcasts like Crime Junkie, detailing the specifics of his crimes and their effects on Bonnie Craig's family and community.