Fairbanks Resident Joshua Bell Convicted in Double Execution

November 4, 2025

(Fairbanks, AK) - Today, a Fairbanks jury found 23-year-old Joshua Bell guilty of two counts of Murder in the First Degree for the August 2022 murders of Ricardo Duperior and Rachel Wright. He was also convicted of Tampering with Physical Evidence and Solicitation of Murder in the First Degree.

On Aug. 7, 2022, around 2:30 a.m., Ricardo Duperior, 28, and Rachel Wright, 18, were shot to death in a residence in the Birchwood Homes neighborhood in Fairbanks. The evidence presented at trial established that Bell shot Duperior immediately as Bell entered the residence. Bell then entered the garage and subsequently executed Wright as she laid in bed. After the murders, he disposed of two firearms in a vault toilet at Tanana Lakes. Bell later attempted to hire someone to kill his co-defendant, Kapri Willis. Willis, 22, was acquitted in a trial in August 2025.

Bell remains in the custody of the Department of Corrections, without bail, pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for May 18, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. Murder in the First Degree carries a mandatory penalty of 30 years to 99 years of incarceration. Accordingly, Bell faces a minimum sentence of 60 years.

"Defendant Bell's brutal execution of two innocent victims is beyond reprehensible," said Fairbanks District Attorney Joe Dallaire. "Ricardo Duperior and Rachel Wright mattered. Their loved ones matter. But standing up to violent, homicidal offenders in this community matters too. Today is a win for justice in the face of incredible sorrow. We appreciate the hard work of the jury, the Fairbanks Police Department, and Assistant District Attorneys Kathryn Mason and Lauren Wood, Paralegals Joleen Cooper, and Law Office Assistant Sherelle Torrez. But our task is not done. The DA's Office now looks forward to preparing for sentencing."

CONTACT: District Attorney Joe Dallaire at (907) 451-5970 or [email protected]

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at [email protected] or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at [email protected] or (907) 269-6269.