December 19, 2025
(Anchorage, AK) – Today, Judge Superior Court Jack McKenna sentenced Karl Marx Thomas, 41, to 15 years in jail for strangling his girlfriend to unconsciousness in December 2023, after she called police seeking help to leave their shared Eagle River residence. During the assault, Thomas caused an orbital hemorrhage, broke her nose, and left her with more than 50 other injuries, catalogued by forensic nurses.
Last June, an Anchorage jury convicted Thomas of Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, two counts of Assault in the Third Degree, and two counts of Assault in the Fourth Degree. At the time of his conduct in 2023, Thomas was on probation in a case involving similar conduct with a different live-in girlfriend. Judge McKenna revoked his probation and imposed the remaining jail time in his probation case, 16 months. In all, Thomas will serve 16 years and 4 months in jail. None of this sentence will be suspended.
Following his June conviction, Thomas was immediately remanded.
This case was investigated by Anchorage Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit, prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ashley D. McGraw and Assistant District Attorney Malone Van Wieren, and supported by Paralegals Christiana Peter and Tanna Severson.
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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.
