ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Last week, a 54-year-old man was convicted by an Anchorage jury of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection to the 2021 death of his wife on St. Paul Island. However, he was found not guilty on a second-degree murder charge.
The verdict was reached after an eight-day trial for Joshua Rukovishnikoff in Anchorage Superior Court. The police report indicated that officers on the Bering Sea island responded to a medical call at Rukovishnikoff’s house and found his wife unresponsive. Despite efforts to revive her, she tragically passed away at the scene.
According to a summary of the police report, Rukovishnikoff admitted to law enforcement that he and his wife had fought in the days leading up to her death, and the altercation had turned physical that morning. He confessed to placing her in a chokehold until she stopped moving, claiming that “it was an accident.”
Rukovishnikoff is set to be sentenced in May on the homicide and manslaughter charges, facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in total. He is currently in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.
In a tragically related development, the couple’s 2-year-old son also passed away in December 2021. The guardians entrusted to care for him following his mother’s death are accused of killing him and are awaiting trial on charges of first- and second-degree murder and assault in the toddler’s death.
This is a truly heartbreaking case that has deeply affected the community on St. Paul Island, and the legal process has brought some closure to the family and friends of the victims. The upcoming sentencing and trial for the guardians involved will hopefully bring some form of justice to the tragic events that have unfolded.