Kendall Rae

But even so, they decided to go ahead and pursue this information.

And I have to say, the way they went about it was really clever.

They didn't trust that Charlotte would tell the truth because she had a friendship with Owens and she might want to protect him.

So instead of just interviewing her, they decided to have LaVonna's neighbor call her while recording the conversation.

While the two of them were casually talking, she didn't deny finding the ID at all.

She even told him that she had never come forward because she figured there was already enough evidence against him.

So make of that what you will.

And like I said, it was clever that they decided to record this conversation because the prosecution was able to call her to the stand.

And while she was under oath,

She completely denied ever finding the ID, but then they got to play the recording out loud right after for her, and it proved that she was lying, which might have helped convince the jury that Matt Owens was responsible for killing Sonya Ivanov.

After all the testimony, they found him guilty of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to 101 years in prison.

And of course, he did try to appeal, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, but that was dismissed.

And luckily for everyone, Matt Owens will spend the rest of his miserable life behind bars.

And that's exactly where he should be.

Now, in the aftermath of Sonia's murder, the community of Nome has dealt with a lot.

Free women brought a lawsuit against the city claiming that they had been harassed, stalked, and threatened by Matt Owens.

And the city knew, or should have known, he was a danger to women.

The Ivanovs also brought a lawsuit against the city over its hiring of Owens.

And overall, the city paid out $750,000 between the suits.

And after this, understandably, the people of Nome and the surrounding areas as well really lost faith in the department.