A man convicted of murder has recently exchanged vows while incarcerated, having fallen for a woman he met during his time in prison. His family views this union as a piece of ‘God’s plan’.
Zakary Howard, aged 32, is currently serving an 18-year sentence for his involvement in the tragic death of 19-year-old Matthew Christensen. Last month, he married a European woman in a ceremony held inside the prison.
However, for Chrissy Christensen, the mother of the victim, this development has reopened emotional wounds. She shared with the Daily Mail, “My son will never get to have that life.”
Howard was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Christensen’s death, which he committed alongside Richard Burns. Burns, who shot the teenager during a robbery attempt, is serving a 25-year sentence.
On April 29, 2015, the duo orchestrated a plan to lure Matthew behind Inca Elementary School in Buckeye, Arizona, under the guise of selling him prescription painkillers, with robbery as their actual intention.
During the encounter, Burns brandished a rifle and fired multiple shots at the teenager, after which they stole his wallet, phone, and car.
They then drove away from the scene and stopped to get food – before returning around 25 minutes later, where Howard saw that Matthew was still breathing.
Rather than call for help, the two left him there and drove off again, later abandoning his car in a nearby neighborhood.
Convicted killer Zakary Howard, 32, tied the knot with bride Julia Cichon (center) a Polish native, in a prison ceremony in late March
Howard (left) is serving 18 years for his role in the killing of 19-year-old Matthew Christensen in 2015
‘He was just two miles down the road, laying there, slowly dying, and I didn’t know,’ Chrissy, 59, added. ‘I never even got to say goodbye.’
Howard met his future brunette bride, Julia Cichon, originally from Poland, after the pair struck up a relationship in 2023 through prison video calls and phone conversations.
In a Facebook post announcing the wedding, his father said the couple’s ‘life stories, journeys and experiences have merged beautifully by God’s design’, adding that their relationship was ‘built entirely upon the foundation of their relationship with Jesus Christ’.
He described the ceremony as an ‘amazing’ occasion, attended by family members including Howard’s brother, who travelled from his Air Force base to serve as best man, and his grandmother, who was praised as a ‘pillar of strength’.
The family also asked for prayers for the couple, saying: ‘God has a special design upon their union.’
Photos show Julia – who was living in Germany – posing in a white dress outside of Graham County Courthouse in Safford, Arizona, smiling with Howard’s family as they went out to eat in the prison parking lot.
Julia did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
But Chrissy said she struggled to understand the decision, because she is serving a ‘life sentence’ without her son.
‘I can’t be hateful because I’m a Christian,’ she said. ‘But I don’t know if that’s right to let people get married like that.
The bride, who lived in Germany, traveled from Europe after forming a relationship with Howard through prison calls
Howard’s family described the union as part of ‘God’s plan’ and celebrated the prison wedding
‘I mean, I think it’s okay to have relationships, fine, whatever. But why can’t it wait till he gets out?’
‘My son is gone,’ she added. ‘I’m never going to get to talk to him until I die. I’m never going to have grandchildren… or dance at his wedding or any of those things.’
Chrissy also questioned the timing of the marriage, suggesting she struggled to understand why it had taken place while Howard remains behind bars in State Prison in Safford.
‘Part of me is wondering, why does it need to be married so bad right now? Was it to get her here in the States?’ she asked. Howard is due to be released in 2033 when he will only be 39 years old.
Howard – now prisoner number 311604 – had grown up in a religious household, where his father was a pastor, and had been heavily involved in church as a teenager, even taking part in worship.
He later admitted to a period of drug use and what he described as ‘rebellion’ in the years leading up to Christensen’s killing.
Following his incarceration, Howard claimed he experienced a religious transformation in prison, with his family saying he rededicated his life to God and now takes part in Bible study with other inmates.
While Chrissy insists she has forgiven those responsible, she believes the narrative surrounding Howard’s transformation has not been honest.
Bereaved mother Chrissy Christensen is asking why her son’s killer needs to marry so badly while he is in prison
Photos show Julia smiling with her new husband’s family as they went out to eat
‘If he really turned away from drugs… his dad just kept talking about how it was marijuana,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘You don’t go to the prison rehab for marijuana.
‘That family never, even after all was said and done, never sent us a card. Nothing.
‘Whereas the other family – the one who actually shot him – came by our house, apologized, cried with us, put money in our GoFundMe.’
‘They did everything they could,’ she said. ‘They felt so bad. And that family couldn’t even… I mean, nobody had to give me money.
‘Just a card to say, “Hey, we’re really sorry”.
‘To minimize it… that minimizes God’s blessing and the turnaround.’
But she admitted that she felt Howard truly showed remorse and seemed embarrassed by the statements his family made in court.
‘I hope he really has turned his life around,’ she said.
Howard and Richard Burns (left) who was 18 at the time, lured the teen victim to a meeting before shooting and leaving him to die in 2015. Burns, who fired the fatal shots, is serving a longer sentence
Howard’s family say he has undergone a religious transformation while in prison
‘And I really hope he has turned toward Jesus. If he really has turned his life around… then praise God.’
She described Matthew as a ‘good-hearted boy’ who was always trying to help others.
‘He was a class clown, so he was always trying to make me laugh,’ she said.
Chrissy recalled the last time she saw her son, telling him to turn his phone off so Howard and Burns would leave him alone.
‘I fell asleep… and if I’d have been awake, he wouldn’t have left,’ she said.
‘I think he thought, “I’ll go run and give them a ride real quick. I’ll be back before mom wakes up,” and then… he never came home.’
‘I miss him. I miss him so much. People think time heals it – it doesn’t. You just learn to carry it.’
