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Wednesday, November 5, 2003

The FBI is weighing federal civil rights charges against a former police officer accused of killing a 19-year-old Alaska Native woman, The Anchorage Daily News reports.

Sonya Ivanoff was found dead in a gravel pit on the outskirts of Nome on August 13. She had moved to Nome from the village of Unalakleet two years ago.

Matthew C. Owens was employed by the Nome police department at the time of Ivanoff's death. He is currently being held at a correctional facility. The Alaska State Troopers are handling the investigation, with an indictment from a state grand jury pending.

If federal authorities bring civil rights charges, Owens faces the death penalty.

Get the Story:
FBI opens federal case in killing (The Anchorage Daily News 11/5)

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