A US soldier has been charged with murdering his wife in Anchorage, Alaska, four days after he reported her missing to police.
Zarrius Hildabrand, 21, has been charged with first and second degree murder, as well as evidence tampering, according to court records. Saria Hildabrand was first reported missing Monday, a day after she was last seen at the couple’s apartment complex, Anchorage police said at the time.
Saria Hildabrand, also 21, was a medic in the Alaska National Guard while her husband worked as a cannon crewman in the US Army, according to NBC affiliate KTUU. Requests for comment from the Army and Alaska National Guard were not immediately returned to NBC News on Sunday.
Court records show Zarrius Hildebrand was arraigned on Friday, with an initial charging document filed in his case.
The document was not immediately available online, but a copy obtained by the KTUU says Anchorage police found the body of Saria Hildabrand on Thursday while searching for her using drones.
Zarrius Hildabrand told police that he and his wife had gone out with friends on August 5 to celebrate his birthday and had not returned until the early hours of the next day. He said that her wife left for work around 10 am on August 6 and that he went to look for her after she still had not returned home some 12 hours later, KTUU reported.
According to court documents, Saria Hildabrand’s co-workers informed the police that they had received text messages from her at 10:45am on August 6 saying that she would be missing work. That same day, Zarrius Hildabrand bought a 96-gallon garbage can, a set of new sheets, hydrogen peroxide, and an empty spray bottle.
Court records do not list an attorney for Zarrius Hildabrand, who has been detained at the Anchorage Correctional Complex since Sunday.
Meredith Barney, the mother of Saria Hildabrand, told the journalists after the appearance on Friday that his daughter was “the most incredible and precious girl in history.”
He said he began to suspect Zarrius Hildabrand “from the second he called me from his own mobile.”
“She would never stop having her phone,” Barney said.
Barney said he was not aware of anything abnormal between the couple outside of the normal “newlywed” issues. The couple met during basic training about a year ago and Saria moved from Utah to Alaska a few months later, Barney said.
“He got to Anchorage in January or February,” Barney said. “She moved here, first to be with him, but also because she wanted to go into the medical part of the National Guard and it’s a lot faster to do it here than it is in Utah.”
Working in the medical field has always been a passion for Saria and Barney said she was excited and proud for her daughter to embark on a new adventure. Barney said that she wants the justice that her daughter deserves from her.
“She’s always been looking forward, and happy, and really, like, loved,” Barney said. “She loved everyone. Everyone loved her.”
This article It was originally published in English by Doha Madani for our sister network NBCNews.com. For more from NBC News enter here.
