Press Release
Yurel Nichols Sentenced for Murdering Paula Zorawski in 2016 Anchorage Robbery
February 15, 2023
(Anchorage, AK) – Today, 24-year-old Yurel Nichols was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna to serve 35 years in prison for the first-degree murder of Paula Zorawski. Nichols pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Oct. 19, 2022.
On Sept. 22, 2016, Nichols and his co-defendants Savon Berry, Michael Fitzgerald, Tommy Higgs III, and Alonzo Steward attempted a home-invasion robbery to steal marijuana and money. After Ms. Zorawski answered the door, she was shot and killed by Nichols. He and his co-defendants fled the scene, and Nichols was apprehended by police several weeks later in Texas.
By agreement, Nichols pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a sentence of 80 years with 45 years suspended. He will be placed on supervised felony probation for 10 years.
At sentencing, Judge McKenna accepted the agreement of the parties, noting that first-degree murder is “the most serious crime we have” and that the sentence was going to require Nichols to spend the bulk of the prime of his life incarcerated. He acknowledged the harm that Nichols’ conduct caused to Ms. Zorawski’s family.
Nichols is in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.
CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick J. McKay, Jr., at (907) 269-6300 or patrick.mckay@alaska.gov.
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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.
Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact law.recordsrequest@alaska.gov to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.