Alaska didn’t solve who killed 23-year-old Eunice Whitman, but its justice system did manage to lock up the wrong man for seven years, ProPublica reports, in a gripping investigation of two eerily similar murders that police have not linked. Whitman of Bethel, Alaska, was found in May 2015 on tundra at the end of a heavily-trafficked boardwalk: stabbed in the throat and chest, clothes removed and placed nearby. Police quickly arrested her boyfriend, Justine Paul, telling the public her blood was on his clothes. A grand jury indicted him 11 days later. The case then stalled for years as the supposed key evidence quietly crumbled: state lab testing showed the blood on Paul’s clothes matched him. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges in 2022. By then, Paul had spent seven years in jail awaiting trial.

His defense attorney, former prosecutor Marcy McDannel, came to believe police had focused on the wrong man while overlooking others. Male DNA on Whitman’s body did not match Paul, the four men who found her, or a registered sex offender seen in the area. A defense expert later identified at least a dozen people who, he argued, should have ranked as higher-priority suspects than Paul based on their proximity or past contact with Whitman. Among them: a man with a history of violence on the same boardwalk; an ex-boyfriend she named in a restraining order; and a man who had Whitman’s phone and a bandaged hand a week after her death. None were charged; two are now dead.

McDannel kept digging after Paul’s release and zeroed in on another possibility: convicted killer Samuel Atchak. Nine months before Whitman’s murder, 19-year-old Roxanne Smart was found in the nearby village of Chevak, also partially nude on the tundra, stabbed in the throat and torso, her clothing arranged close by. Atchak confessed in that case, saying he surprised Smart from behind before making her blackout, and is serving 115 years. In a 2022 prison interview, he coolly analyzed Whitman’s killing, theorizing about the attacker’s motive and method (surprise from behind with a “chokehold.”) He also recalled being in Bethel on the weekend of the killing, on a flight stopover.

State troopers later told McDannel that travel and medical records ruled Atchak out in Whitman’s case but did not share the underlying documents; Atchak has declined new interviews. Public pressure resurfaced in January, when an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous people posted about Whitman online, prompting calls to police. In March, Alaska’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons unit took over the case and says it is starting from scratch. However, Whitman’s family says they still haven’t been re-interviewed—and still don’t know who killed her. While officials concede “unacceptable” delays in the case, citing heavy turnover among rural prosecutors, they maintain that everyone acted properly.

The Alaska Division of Elections has shared information about the state’s registered voters with the administration of President Donald Trump after a monthslong legal review, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom said Tuesday.

The decision to share Alaskans’ data comes as the Trump administration has sought to compile a nationwide voter roll, raising concern among some election observers over how the administration would use the information.

The U.S. Department of Justice first requested the voter information from the Alaska Division of Elections in July, according to documents shared by the lieutenant governor’s office. Dahlstrom — who as lieutenant governor is charged with overseeing Alaska’s elections — released the records to Trump administration officials this week, only after what her office called a “thorough” legal review of the request.

The Justice Department in July requested a copy of the state’s voter registration list, including a list of people registered to vote in Alaska who were “determined to be non-citizens.”

Voting by non-citizens is extremely rare in Alaska, the Division of Elections has said based on recent voting records.

Trump for years has falsely claimed that millions of noncitizens are voting illegally, stoking efforts by the GOP to put the threat of noncitizen voting at the center of its political strategy.

Responding to the July Trump administration request, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher in August shared with the Justice Department the publicly available statewide voter registration list, which includes the names of voters and their party affiliation, but does not include identifying figures such as Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers.

Later in August, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon responded to the state insisting that the state provide a list of registered voters “including the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number.”

Dhillon wrote the information was needed to assess Alaska’s compliance with voter registration maintenance provisions of the National Voter Registration Act.

Before joining the Trump administration, Dhillon was contracted by the Alaska Republican Party last year to oversee a recount of votes cast on an Alaska ballot measure seeking to repeal the state’s ranked choice voting and open primary system. The ballot measure, which was supported by the Alaska GOP, narrowly failed.

In her August letter, Dhillon demanded the state respond to her request within a week. The state’s response came four months later, on Dec. 19, after the Division of Elections signed a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department seeking to protect the information it was sharing.

“The timeline was driven by our commitment to ensuring that any data shared complied fully with Alaska law and protected voter privacy,” said Kelly Howell, a spokesperson for Dahlstrom, in an email.

“When the DOJ made its request in August, we immediately began a thorough review in consultation with the Department of Law and had further discussions with the DOJ,” Howell wrote. “This was necessary to confirm that we had the legal authority to release the requested information and to identify any safeguards needed to protect sensitive voter data. That process takes time, and we wanted to be absolutely certain before moving forward.”

Howell said that the memorandum of understanding signed between the state and DOJ is “common practice for data transfers between government entities.”

The Trump administration has sued numerous states for refusing to share voter registration information with the Justice Department. Several Democratic attorneys general raised concerns last month over the possibility that the Justice Department was sharing voter information with the Department of Homeland Security.

Dahlstrom is one of a dozen Republicans running to be Alaska’s next governor. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is termed out from seeking reelection.

Governor Mike Dunleavy today announced the appointments of Garret Nelson and Steve St. Clair to the Alaska House of Representatives.

St. Clair will represent will District 26. He has lived in Wasilla for 15 years, is a retired Military Police First Sergeant, and spent 7 years in Juneau as a legislative staffer.

Nelson will represent District 29. Nelson and his family have lived in Sutton for 9 years and he is chair of the Sutton Community Council.

“I appreciate the willingness of these Alaskans to step forward to serve at a pivotal time for our state. Their experience and commitment to their communities will help ensure their districts continue to have a strong voice in the Alaska House of Representatives,” said Governor Dunleavy.

The Governor also thanked all the applicants who allowed their names to be put forward and for their willingness to serve our state.

Nelson and St. Clair will assume their House duties upon confirmation in accordance with Alaska law.