Ronald “Ronnie” “Ron” McKnight, a White/Caucasian male, age 57, was found dead at his home on Roland Road west of Fairbanks on December 10, 2015. Troopers initially treated the discovery as suspicious and, after an autopsy, ruled it a homicide. His distinctive 1992 green Ford utility pickup—marked by a three-inch white horizontal stripe and a red topper, license plate JAX474—was missing from his driveway and later recovered after authorities asked the public for help locating it.
Inside the house, investigators found the 57-year-old man face-down beside his bed with a pillow over his head; a shot had been fired through the pillow into his head, and the autopsy determined he died from multiple gunshot wounds. Friends told investigators they had been at the house the day before while the 57-year-old man worked in his garage, and a neighbor who slept over left that morning and later returned to discover the body and call troopers. The bedroom showed signs of targeted theft: a small gray safe usually kept in the closet was gone, the service panel concealing a cache of handguns had been ripped open, and boxes of. 22-caliber ammunition—matching live rounds left on the floor—were missing.
Detectives quickly focused on two men the 57-year-old had known. Phone records showed a stream of messages overnight on December 9 between 39-year-old Steven John Hartman and 18-year-old Noah Isaac Griffith, discussing the safe and coordinating around the house. Location data placed their phones near the home during the relevant hours. A week after the killing, troopers stopped a Volkswagen driven by Griffith; a juvenile passenger said she had seen him leave with a Makita tool bag and later stash guns under the rear seat. A search turned up the Makita bag and three pistols matching images found on the victim's phone, along with a gray safe and ammunition. A Remington. 30-06 traced through federal records back to the 57-year-old man was recovered from Griffith's residence. Hartman, whom witnesses had seen at the house the night before the killing, was also taken into custody, and investigators later learned the stolen truck was left unlocked with keys in the ignition at an apartment complex.
In April 2016, both Hartman and Griffith were charged with first- and second-degree murder, accused of killing the 57-year-old man and taking guns, ammunition, and the truck from his home. As the case moved toward trial, prosecutors said Hartman—while jailed—tried to arrange the murder of Griffith after learning Griffith would testify against him. In February 2019, Hartman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the December 2015 killing and to attempting to have Griffith killed to silence him as a witness.
The court proceedings concluded the following spring. In May 2019, Hartman was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the homicide. Griffith, who cooperated with authorities, received a five-year sentence for his role connected to the robbery that wrapped around the killing. The case that began with a missing truck and a ransacked bedroom ended with admissions in court, the primary killer sentenced, and the accomplice held to account.
