Man charged in girlfriend’s strangling death at Palmer motel

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A 35-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend last month at a Palmer motel.

Anchorage television station KTVA reports Martin Saccheus is charged in the death of 28-year-old Mingnuna Miller. The state medical examiner determined she died by strangulation.

Saccheus is represented by the Alaska Public Defender Agency, which did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Saccheus called 911 on Nov. 8 and said Miller was not breathing.

Police responded to the Peak Inn and found Miller dead. Saccheus told officers he and Miller had been drinking heavily and ingesting cocaine.

Police say Saccheus acknowledged choking Miller because she wouldn’t “quiet down.”

Palmer Police Chief Lance Ketterling says the department waited for conclusions from the medical examiner before arresting Saccheus.

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Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com