Woman’s body found off Alaska highway, officials say. Now her husband faces prison
An Alaska man faces up to 99 years in prison in connection with the death of his wife, whose body was discovered by a tour group off a highway several months after he reported her missing, officials said.
Robert Bridges, 62, was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kimberly Bridges, the Alaska Department of Law wrote in a Nov. 27 news release.
He also was convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence during a trial in Fairbanks, prosecutors said. He faces 30 to 99 years in prison.
His attorney couldn’t immediately be reached by McClatchy News for comment on Nov. 29.
Robert Bridges is accused of shooting his 64-year-old wife in the back of the head, wrapping her body in bedding and a tarp, and dumping it off a highway near the Yukon River bridge.
Her body was found by a tour group that pulled off the highway on May 25, 2022, seven months to the day after Robert Bridges reported her missing, officials said.
He told police that he’d last seen her leaving home with a couple in a green Subaru, prosecutors said. But officials were suspicious of his story, McClatchy News previously reported.
Robert Bridges “provided an account of his days that was contradicted by independent evidence,” the Department of Law said.
During the trial, prosecutors said Robert Bridges was tired of being a caretaker for his wife, who was sick, while his attorney refuted that alleged motive, TV station KTUU reported.
Kimberly Bridges was born in Texas, and her “love for moving and travel came honestly as a child and carried on throughout her life due to her father’s military career,” which included stints in Texas, California, Scotland and Alaska, her obituary said.
“Her love and advocacy for her family and animals was beyond measure and will be greatly missed,” said the obituary, which listed a son, daughter and four grandchildren as her survivors.
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