Who killed Bonnie Craig?

The FBI's Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, was created as a tool for law enforcement throughout the country to use to identify criminals who may be in different states. It allows DNA to be used much like fingerprints, to solve crimes.

She had left her residence for classes at the UAA campus early on the morning of September 28, but never made it to class. Her body was found in McHugh Creek that afternoon. Authorities say she had been raped and severely beaten before she fell off of a cliff into the creek.

The rape and murder of 18-year-old Bonnie Craig rocked the Anchorage community 13 years ago. It's been so long since her death, Craig's mother says she almost lost hope of ever finding her daughter's killer.

"I was so afraid that if we did, so much time has passed that maybe it would end up as a mistrial. And I would hate to know who it was and there not be a conviction. That would be harder than anything, I think," said Bonnie's mother, Karen Foster.

The very nature of Alaska can make it hard for murders like Craig's to be solved.

"Alaska is a very transient state. So a lot of people move from the state on us--not only the suspects, but witnesses and families. And the older a case is, the more people forget," said Timothy Hunyor of the Trooper Cold Case Unit.

Her family made sure the community never forgot Craig. Posters of her face were plastered all over Anchorage in the mid-90's--all bearing the same question:

Who killed Bonnie Craig?

Now, thanks to DNA, authorities say 37-year-old Kenneth Dion committed the crime.

"The marrying of technology with forensic science really does help law enforcement solve cases that would have otherwise in the past gone unsolved," said F.B.I. spokesperson, Eric Gonzalez.

So why has it taken 13 years to solve the Bonnie Craig case? The answer is: money. The state crime lab is under-funded. Combine that with a lack of manpower, and you have a backlog of more than 1,000 DNA samples waiting to be entered in the CODIS DNA System.

"It is a high priority for us, but we do have other crime scenes going on. And with the urgency behind those, it kind of gets put on the back burner and we just get to it whenever. And hopefully it won't burn," said Megan Peters of the Alaska State Troopers.

While the process may have taken more than a decade, investigators and the community made sure Craig's mystery would one day be solved.

"It's amazing how many people remember Bonnie. And it's amazing how many people have been praying that this killer will be brought to justice. And now he will," said Foster.

Now the family, and a community that has never forgotten Craig, may finally have closure that has been 13 years in coming.

There is something important to note: the backlog of DNA samples in Alaska applies only to the samples taken from inmates already in jail, those convicted of violent crimes and felonies.

The DNA samples found at crime scenes are now immediately entered as part of the investigation process, so those are currently up to date.

The CODIS System helps solve crimes by matching the two types of samples together, sometimes from two completely different states, as was done in the Craig case.