The Murder of Saria Hildabrand: What Zarius Hildabrand Did After the Gunshot

On the night of August 5, 2023, 21-year-old Army soldier Saria Hildabrand spent the evening celebrating her husband Zarius's 21st birthday. They went to Dave and Buster's with friends, moved to the bars downtown, and came home to their apartment on Mockingbird Drive in Anchorage, Alaska, around 2:00 AM.

Within minutes of getting home, Saria discovered that Zarius had been cheating on her. She went through his Snapchat and Instagram and found explicit conversations with multiple women — conversations he had been hiding for months. The last recorded activity on her phone was at 2:24 AM. At 2:46 AM, a neighbor called 911 to report a single gunshot.

Zarius Hildabrand then spent the next several days pretending his wife was still alive. He texted her coworkers from her phone. He told her friends she had left for work without her phone. He organized a search party and stood alongside her grieving family as they searched Anchorage for her. He knew exactly where she was the entire time.

Saria Hildabrand was the oldest of six children, raised in Idaho and Utah. She was close with her mother Meredith, who she called every single day. She joined the Utah Army National Guard to help pay for college and eventually transferred to the Alaska Army National Guard, where she was serving as a combat medic. She was 21 years old and had her whole life ahead of her.

On June 25, 2026, a jury found Zarius Hildabrand guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. He faces between 15 and 99 years in prison under Alaska law. Sentencing is scheduled for October 2026.

Sources 

1. Saria May Barney Obituary - Rasmussen Mortuary

2. Man found guilty of killing Utah wife in Alaska jury trial | KSL.com

3. 21-year-old Zarrius Hildabrand Arrested for Murder — Anchorage Police Department

4. Details emerge in arrest of husband related to Anchorage woman’s death

5. Military Marriage Murder Trial — AK v. Zarrius Hildabrand — Full Opening Statements

6. Bombshell 911 Calls Played for Jury in Soldier Wife Murder Trial

7. Court documents indicate Utah woman's husband attempted to cover up her murder in Alaska

8. Family, APD searching for Anchorage woman missing since Sunday

9. Mom weeps in court as she describes final messages with daughter, 21, whose body was found in drainpipe - as victim's US soldier husband stands trial for murder 

10. Detective Says Evidence Points to Murder of Military Wife

11. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saria-hildabrand-alaska-zarrius-hildabrand-army-soldier-arrest/

12. Army soldier told friend ‘I did what I did’ after arrest for wife’s death | Court TV

13. FULL TESTIMONY: Zarrius Hildabrand takes the stand in his murder trial

14. Emotional Mom Defends Son Accused of Killing Wife

15. Accused Wife Killer Never Said He Missed Her, Mom Testifies

16. US Army soldier accused of killing his wife, a National Guard combat medic, faces court hearing | Stars and Stripes

17. Saria May Barney Obituary - Rasmussen Mortuary

18. Mother of Slain Soldier Recalls Heartbreaking Final Memories Before Daughter’s Murder

19. Army Soldier Charged with Murdering New Wife, a Combat Medic Found Dead in a Storm Drain | Oxygen

20. Army soldier accused of killing newlywed wife, whose body was found in storm drain, called police to report her missing

21. Zarrius Hildabrand shows no emotion as jury convicts him of murder | Court TV