Martin Hietala Found Guilty of Kidnapping, Assault in the First Degree

Martin Hietala Found Guilty of Kidnapping, Assault in the First Degree

On May 8, 2025, a Fairbanks jury found 41-year-old Martin Hietala guilty of Kidnapping and three counts of Assault in the First Degree. The jury acquitted him of five counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree.On July 15, 2018, Mr. Hietala restrained J.B. in a Fairbanks hotel and repeatedly strangled her, twice to unconsciousness, while he interrogated her about spying applications that he asserted she had placed within his cellphone. Mr. Hiet…