Inset: Zarrius Hildabrand and Saria Hildabrand (KSTU). Background: Zarrius Hildabrand is sentenced in Anchorage for fatally shooting his Alaska National Guard combat medic wife, Saria Hildabrand (KTUU).
A former Alaska-based U.S. Army soldier will spend decades behind bars after killing his combat medic wife and placing her body in a storm drain.
Zarrius Hildabrand, 24, was sentenced Friday to 59 years in prison. He was convicted in June of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of his 21-year-old wife, Saria Hildabrand, whose body was discovered in a storm drain near the couple’s Anchorage apartment in August 2023. A jury acquitted him of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors said the killing occurred during the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2023, after Hildabrand celebrated his 21st birthday by going out with Saria and friends. The group visited several establishments in Anchorage before the couple returned home. According to a June 2026 statement announcing his conviction, Saria found messages on Hildabrand’s phone suggesting that he had been unfaithful.
Both Zarrius and Saria Hildabrand were serving on active duty in the U.S. Army when she was killed.
Investigators documented extensive blood at the couple’s apartment. “There was so much blood on the mattress that the blood soaked through onto the carpet and into the wood frame,” the criminal complaint said.
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Police used a chemical spray designed to reveal blood that cannot normally be seen with the naked eye. The testing showed blood throughout the bathtub and on portions of the floor, evidence investigators believed was likely left behind after attempts had been made to clean the scene, according to the complaint.
Authorities recovered two handguns from the apartment. One was fully loaded, while the other had one round missing from its magazine.
Investigators said Hildabrand purchased a 96-gallon wheeled garbage can from Lowe’s. Inside his apartment, crime scene investigators also found a black-and-red mop bucket. The complaint said the bucket and mop were the same products sold at Lowe’s in the aisle next to the trash cans.
Police later located the garbage can, which appeared to contain blood. Using a drone, officers traced a path from the location where the can was found and spotted what appeared to be a pillow and another light-colored object in a storm drain measuring roughly 4 to 5 feet wide. They discovered Saria Hildabrand’s remains there. She appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the left temple.
Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
The post Army soldier accused of shooting newlywed wife and moving her body in a “rolling trash can” before placing her in a storm drain learns his fate first appeared on Law & Crime.
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