An Army soldier in Alaska is accused of fatally shooting his newlywed wife, stashing her body in a storm drain — then posting desperate Facebook messages about her disappearance and helping her mom search for her.
Heinous hubby Zarrius Hildabrand, 21, has been charged with raps including first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the slaying of his spouse, Alaska National Guard combat medic Saria Hildabrand, also 21, the Anchorage Police Department said.
Hildabrand – who is a cannon crewmember assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team – reported Saria missing Monday evening, Aug. 7, KTUU reported.
She was then found dead from a gunshot wound to the left temple Thursday in a 4-by-5-foot storm drain near the couple’s Anchorage apartment, the Anchorage Daily News said, citing the police incident report.
“Updated information on my missing wife PLEASE SHARE AND REPOST!!!!!!” Hildabrand had written on Facebook on Wednesday night above a picture of his wife’s “missing” poster — the day before her body was discovered and fewer than 48 hours before his arrest.
Saria’s distraught mother, Meredith Barney, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday, “He walked around for hours with me searching for my daughter knowing that she was dead.
“He lied to me multiple times and tried to play it off like he was a concerned husband.”
When Hildabrand reported his wife missing Monday, he told police he and Saria returned home around 2 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, after celebrating his birthday downtown with friends, an incident report obtained by Law & Crime explained.
A neighbor later reported hearing a gunshot around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, KTUU said.
Hildabrand claimed that Saria, who worked with the Alaska National Guard, left between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Aug. 6 for her second job at a local restaurant.
The suspect said his wife walked to work because both of them were hungover and did not feel well enough to drive, the report stated.
He also claimed that she left her phone in the apartment but took her purse and wallet.
But in a separate interview, one of the couple’s friends told police that Saria mentioned she did not plan to work Aug. 6, the Anchorage Daily News said.
Hildabrand told police he “vegetated” at home while he believed his wife was at work, though he later backtracked and said he ran a few errands.
Hildabrand claimed he did not realize his wife was missing until he went to pick her up from work at 7 p.m. and learned she never arrived.
“Zarrius said that he had been searching for Saria ever since,” the complaint said. “Zarrius said that he had been to every friend’s house, called Saria’s parents, contacted all the hospitals, and jail.”
He finally contacted police 36 hours after Saria was last seen and told cops he was hoping he would track down his wife and “find [her disappearance] was a misunderstanding,” the document added.
After Saria was reported missing, her co-workers told officers that they received a text from her number at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, saying she was calling off work.