A former U.S. Army soldier celebrated his 21st birthday with a night out before returning home and fatally shooting his wife after she confronted him about infidelity, a court heard.
Zarrius Hildabrand, now 24, killed Saria Hildabrand on August 6, 2023, then hid her body in a storm drain near the couple’s apartment in Anchorage, Alaska.
Prosecutors said the killing occurred only hours after the newlyweds had gone out drinking with friends to mark Hildabrand’s milestone birthday.
After they returned home, Saria, who served as a combat medic, found messages on her husband’s phone indicating that he had been unfaithful, according to evidence presented in court.
Hildabrand then shot her once in the head with a 9mm handgun, prosecutors said, leaving her dead inside their home.
Instead of contacting police, Hildabrand began staging an elaborate cover-up. He bought cleaning supplies, placed his wife’s body inside a large wheeled trash bin and ultimately dumped her in an underground drainage system.
He later reported Saria missing and took part in the search alongside her devastated relatives, fellow soldiers and police officers, even though he knew she was already dead.
An Anchorage jury convicted Hildabrand in June of second-degree murder and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. Jurors acquitted him of the more serious first-degree murder charge.
On Friday, a judge sentenced him to 59 years in prison for the murder, followed by an additional suspended sentence of 25 years.
Zarrius Hildabrand, 24, received a 59-year prison sentence for killing his wife, Saria Hildabrand, a combat medic whose remains were found near the couple’s Anchorage apartment
Saria served as a combat medic with the Alaska National Guard. She had moved from Utah to Alaska to join her new husband just six months before she was found dead
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Peter Ramgren sharply criticized Hildabrand’s conduct and pointed to what he described as the defendant’s apparent lack of remorse throughout the investigation and trial.
Although the jury rejected the first-degree murder charge, Ramgren said he believed Hildabrand had deliberately killed his wife.
‘This was an inexplicable killing, completely unwarranted and without provocation,’ the judge said at the hearing.
‘He killed his wife and then methodically engaged in a dayslong attempt to cover up his conduct and to avoid its consequences, with no thought for anyone but himself.’
Ramgren asked Hildabrand whether he wanted to speak before sentencing. The former soldier declined, responding only: ‘No, your honor.’
The judge appeared disappointed, saying he had hoped Hildabrand ‘would have something to say’ and ‘at least extend some sort of apology to the family.’
‘His failure to take responsibility reflects poorly on his prospects for rehabilitation,’ Judge Ramgren added.
Hildabrand will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least two-thirds of his active prison sentence.
A missing-person poster was circulated as Hildabrand pretended to search for his wife, despite knowing he had hidden her remains in a storm drain
The case began on August 5, 2023, when the young couple enjoyed a night out with friends to celebrate Hildabrand’s birthday.
They visited Dave & Buster’s before heading to a downtown Anchorage bar and returning to their apartment in the early hours.
It was that same night Saria apparently discovered evidence of her husband’s infidelity on his cellphone and was shot dead.
Investigators discovered that Hildabrand purchased a 96-gallon rolling garbage can from Lowe’s, which he used to transport her body to a nearby storm drain.
He also bought hydrogen peroxide, replacement bedsheets, a mattress cover and other cleaning supplies in an apparent attempt to eliminate evidence.
The deception continued when Hildabrand told police that his wife had left for work the following morning, despite being hungover from their night out.
He claimed she had forgotten her cellphone but taken her purse and wallet before walking to Bread and Brew, a restaurant about a mile away.
However, detectives uncovered a crucial inconsistency.
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Zarrius Hildabrand, fatally shot his wife, Saria Barney, 21, on August 6, 2023 and hid her body in a storm drain near their property before lying to authorities about what had happened
The former soldier testified in court that he would drink to the point where he couldn’t remember what happened once or twice a year
Saria’s colleagues had received a text message from her phone at 10.45am saying she would not be coming to work – despite Hildabrand claiming the device had remained at their apartment.
He denied sending the message and could not explain how it had been transmitted.
Meanwhile, Saria’s family became increasingly desperate.
Her mother, Meredith Barney, recalled receiving a photograph of the couple smiling together during their birthday celebrations – the last communication she would ever receive from her daughter.
Meredith subsequently flew from Utah to Alaska with Saria’s aunt to join the search.
She described her son-in-law as ‘very paranoid and very rigid’ during the ordeal.
But while as many as 70 volunteers searched for the missing soldier, investigators were uncovering disturbing evidence inside her apartment.
Detectives noticed that the couple’s bed appeared to be missing its usual sheets, while unopened replacements sat on the kitchen table.
When officers asked to look beneath the mattress, Hildabrand refused, claiming there were embarrassing sexual items underneath.
Saria’s mother, Meredith, testified in court how her daughter sent her one last text message on their night out
But a subsequent search found that blood had soaked through the mattress and onto the carpet and into the wood frame.
Traces of blood were also discovered throughout the bathtub and on parts of the floor, suggesting extensive cleaning attempts.
Investigators eventually located the discarded trash can and used a drone to search a nearby drainage system.
There, beneath a pillow in a storm drain, they discovered Saria’s remains.
During his trial, Hildabrand admitted disposing of his wife’s body while claiming he could not remember whether he had actually killed her.
‘The plan was to hide the body of my wife and then clean up the blood off the mattress and the surrounding area,’ he testified.
When asked how he knew he had not pulled the trigger, he simply replied, ‘I don’t.’
The defense suggested Saria’s death could have been accidental or self-inflicted, arguing that prosecutors had failed to establish precisely what happened.
His attorney, Lacey Jane Brewster, even said during the trial that if her client did kill his wife, it was ‘more likely’ that her death was the result ‘of a drunken mishandling of a firearm.’
Hildabrand’s defense team even tried to argue it was possible that Saria took her own life
Prosecutor Brittany Dunlop rejected that explanation, telling jurors that Hildabrand’s subsequent actions demonstrated a deliberate effort to conceal a murder.
‘Selective amnesia is a coward’s way out of a hard truth,’ she argued. ‘You don’t cover up an accident, you cover up a crime.’
The jury ultimately agreed that Hildabrand was guilty of murder.
At Friday’s sentencing, the court heard from Saria’s devastated relatives about the extraordinary loss suffered by their family.
‘This man showed no remorse or even emotion about what he did to her. He played a game with me and my family,’ her mother, Meredith Barney, said.
‘Every human makes mistakes, even big ones that hurt people. However, not everyone defiles a corpse and throws it down the storm drain. He did that. He did that to my little girl.’
