Judge delays sentencing of man who murdered girlfriend in 2019
A Palmer judge last week asked for more time to consider a sentence for convicted murderer Martin Luther Saccheus, 40, after hearing from the prosecution, the defense, and from the family of Bobbi Mingnuna Miller, who was strangled to death in a Palmer motel room by Saccheus.
On November 8, 2019 Mingnuna Miller, 28-years-old, was found dead at the Peak Inn Motel in Palmer.
Palmer Police Chief Lance Kettering told The Nome Nugget then that the police department received a 911 call from Martin Saccheus, originally of Elim, stating that Miller was not breathing.Palmer police responded and found Miller’s body at the motel. The State Medical Examiner concluded that Miller died by strangulation. Palmer police arrested Saccheus on November 30 and initially charged him with murder in the second degree, an unclassified felony charge. According to Chief Kettering, alcohol was a factor in the crime.
In late May 2024, Saccheus’ trial began in Palmer and on June 13, the jury found Saccheus guilty and convicted him of murder in the second degree and manslaughter for Miller’s death.
The sentencing was scheduled for October 2 and continued to the next day. Usually, judges pronounce sentences after having read through a confidential pre-sentencing report and then hearing recommendations from the prosecution and the defense. Judge Kristen Stohler, however, did not feel ready to make a sentencing decision last week, although the victim’s family, including the ailing mother, had traveled to Palmer to be present at the sentencing.
The judge heard from the prosecutor who proposed a sentence of 75 years with 25 years suspended. The state attorney justified the request for a long sentence due to the nature of the crime, death by strangulation, and aggravating factors such as Saccheus’ history of assaults and convictions.
The defense attorney for Saccheus said no matter how long the sentence, it won’t bring back the victim. The attorney said that Saccheus had struggled with alcohol abuse his whole life and that he has never received the treatment he so desperately needed. The defense proposed a sentence of 30 years with 10 suspended.
The judge also heard from Mingnuna Miller’s mother Diane Miller, who through tears recounted the day when a trooper showed up at her house in Teller and informed the family of Mingnuna’s death.
Billi Miller also addressed the judge and Saccheus. Mingnuna was her twin sister. “When you murdered Bobbi, you also murdered me,” she said, addressing Saccheus. “From the beginning, we were one.” She spoke of the nightmares, pain, panic attacks that haunt her since her sister died. She suffers from twin phantom pain, she said. “I can feel him choking me and I wake up crying for air,” she told the judge. Miller said that Saccheus is dangerous and that he does not deserve to walk in society again. “If he doesn’t get the maximum sentence, he will hurt somebody again,” she said.
Other siblings also addressed the judge, speaking of the gentle soul that Bobbi Mingnuna was, her love for school, music, sports, Eskimo dancing, gathering wild greens, berries and fishing. And that Bobbi Mingnuna Miller leaves behind a daughter, forever deprived of her mother.
Saccheus was allowed to address the judge. He said he was sorry but he also said he didn’t have a fair trial, complained about the perceived incompetence of his public defenders in his defense and said he is appealing to get a new trial. He then maintained: “I didn’t murder Bobbi. I loved her too much.”
Despite pleas from the victim’s family to make a sentencing decision soon, due to health issues, the judge set the sentencing for Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.