9 Horrifying Details of Military Wife's Gruesome Murder

A young army couple's marriage is broken. up in gruesome fashion less than a year. after they said I do. >> Hildebran was shot in the head that. night. just above her left temple and that. ended her life. >> And now one of those newlyweds is on. trial accused of killing his wife. >> Where is she? What happened? When will we find her?

Those are the questions that everyone. else in Sarai Hildebrand's life is. asking. Except for the defendant, Zarius. Hildebrand, as he already knew all those. answers. >> This case is a tragedy. It's. heartbreaking. It's not murder. >> A juryy's going to have to decide. Was. this a crime of passion or a horrible. accident? Welcome to Sidebar, presented. by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

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get to live past the age of 21. And the. man that she married begins a very. different adventure of his own, a. different journey, facing a jury among. his peers on murder charges. We are. closely watching the trial of Zaryus. Hildebrand out of Anchorage, Alaska, which kicked off today with opening. statements. We've been covering it and. you have all the highlights you need to. know right here on this episode of. Sidebar. But first, got to give you some. context. Got to give you the background.

story. Got to tell you how he got here. September 2021, Zarya Hildebrand joined. the Army according to the Anchorage. Daily News. Arrived in Alaska in April. of 2022. The US Army told the Daily News. that he was a cannon crew member. He was. assigned to the second infantry brigade. combat team airborne of the 11th. Airborne Division. He was positioned at. Joint Base Elmenorf Richardson. Now. during that same period, Sariah Barney. was in Utah where the Daily News reports. that she served in the National Guard as. a field artillery firefinder radar.

operator. The two their love story. reportedly began in the summer of 2022. This is when they met during Army basic. training and after a brief long-distance. relationship, they were married by the. end of the year. Eventually ended up. living together in Alaska. And at that. point, Sariah was assigned to the Alaska. Army National Guard's headquarters and. headquarters company. She also worked at. a local restaurant called Bread and. Brew, which will come up a lot. And it. appeared that Sariah and Zaryus were.

great. They were finally setting into. their new lives as a married couple. Again, supposed to be an exciting time. But by August of 2023, everything changed. Sariah would be dead. and days later her husband would be. arrested and charged with first and. seconddegree murder as well as tampering. with evidence. And now there are a lot. of questions here, a lot of questions. Why would Zaryus, according to. investigators, want to kill his new. wife? Were there issues from the start?

What exactly happened the night that she. died? Now, we shared an episode on. Tuesday laying out the background of. this case, the timeline through the. criminal complaint along with reactions. from Sarah's own mother as the. investigation unfolded. So, check that. video out. It's up on Long Crimes. YouTube channel. You can watch the whole. thing. But right now, what we're going. to do today is we got the trial. We got. day one. Today's episode is about. telling this story now through the. prosecution and the defense in their. opening statements. Okay? which by the. way said before opening statements.

sometimes it's not supposed to be the. case but a jury will decide the case. based on the opening statements even. though it's not evidence it's just human. nature you see studies about that how. each side crafts the narrative and in. this case you got a jury of nine men and. seven women so let's start with the. prosecution how they laid it out how. they described what they claimed. happened on the night of the alleged. murder. >> on Sunday August 5th 2023. sir I had planned some events and.

presents as it was the defendant's 21st. birthday. She had planned for some. friends to go out. Few came over. She. made him a present in the form of a beer. cake and she was excited to celebrate. him. One of those friends that came over was. Marie Wentz. to their apartment at 5210. Mockingbird Drive, Unit 13. Marie had. become friends with Sia since she moved. to Alaska. They were inseparable,

texting constantly. They were together. that day. That morning, they had gone to. the gym as they frequently did and then. ran some errands in preparation for his. birthday. Later that evening, the group went to. Dave and Busters. They were winning. prizes and playing games and having a. good time. Sia was extremely excited to win a. Pickle Rick plushie. She was texting her. mom about it. She was even googling how. to win the most points at Dave and. Busters. And she did win and she took a photo.

with her husband to celebrate that. After Dave and Busters, they left at. Dave and Busters. There was a much. larger group and then some of them went. downtown. The people that went downtown. are Logan Calhoun and Zachary Ferrar who. were friends with the defendant as well. as Marie Wentz and her friend Isaac. Maholing who were friends more so with. Sia. When they got to Gaslight, the defendant. was declined entry.

He was a little bummed, but eventually Sariah ordered them an. Uber home where she took the defendant, Marie and Isaac, back to 5210. Mockingbird Drive. Marie and Isaac went their separate way. in the parking lot. as Sariah walked inside with the. defendant, helping him along, but he was. walking fine. They get inside alone. and that was the last time.

Sarah Hildebrandt was ever seen alive. >> So up until this point it sounds like. the couple had a fun night out with. friends celebrating Zaryus's birthday. Dave and Busters trying to get into a. club denied entry, eventually make it. home. You know, nothing out of the. ordinary. But then the prosecutor hits. with that final line. She was never seen. alive again after that night. Let's hear. how the prosecutor lays out what. investigators believe happened next.

>> in that apartment that night. It was the. two of them. According to the defendant, at one. point, they had gone inside. She. probably took the dogs out. They were. even giving each other grief back and. forth, making fun of each other before. they fell asleep. However, between 212 and 2:24 that a.m. that day, Sariah found evidence. of the defendant cheating on her on. Snapchat and Instagram, sending photos. to girls, offering to fly him out to.

Alaska, getting photos from them, sending funny, even offering to kiss and. make it better. The last photo that we see on Sariah's. phone that night was at 2:24. After that, at 2:40, Marie got a call from Sarah's mom. Unfortunately, she had been home for a. while. She didn't see it. It went. unanswered. Just 8 minutes later.

at 2:48 a.m. 911 got a call from Taylor. Angstrom, a neighbor in the apartment just across. the courtyard. He calls in and says. about 30 seconds ago there was a. gunshot. It sounded just outside my. window. It was very loud. I I don't know. where it came from, but he called it in. Sarah Hilderbrand was shot in the head. that night. just above her left temple and that. ended her life.

>> So now we're starting to see the. prosecutor set the scene, right? The. night began. Perfect. But now back at. the apartment, the cracks in the. relationship come to the surface, leading to what prosecutors allege is a. fatal conclusion. But the prosecution obviously has to. present evidence, right? Evidence. connecting Zaryus to this murder. So. here's how she describes the defendant's. actions after the alleged murder. In those early morning hours, officers.

did respond to that 911 call, but. without knowing directly where it's. from. They didn't have the opportunity. to contact the defendant that night. The next morning, early morning hours of Sunday, August. 6th, around 9:10, no one heard from. Sarah. No messages. No one heard from her. Marie Wentz eventually sent a message, leave a Snapchat, asking how Sariah and the defendant were. feeling. She got a response from Sarah's.

phone, but it wasn't from Sariah. That. response was from the defendant, sending. a thumbs up that he felt fine. Marie. asked if they would want to go to lunch. and get some food, probably to help with. some of the feelings they were having. that morning. The defendant said, "Nope, we can't go. We don't want to go. Sariah. already left and walked to work at 10. that day. Marie found that a little odd.

considering. the defendant said forgot her phone. Sariah was always on her phone. 21-year-old on Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, texting, all of the above. However, she didn't push it. She also. found it odd because the night before. Sarah had said she intended on calling. out. So, she didn't expect to start a. Sarah to go to work, let alone to walk. But she understood the defendant had her. phone and that she would hear from her. friend later. At least she hoped.

But she didn't. Throughout Sunday, August 6th, Marie. wasn't the only one to get messages from. Sarah's phone. Nadia Jones was Sariah's manager at. Bread and Brew. At 10:44 a.m., she got a text. Hey, this. is Sariah. Can't make it in today. Giving him an. excuse. Audia took that at face value, and no. one else heard from Sarah's phone that.

day. Marie had reached out a few times. between the end of Sunday, sending DMs. or funny videos. asking, "Where are you? Why haven't you. talked to me?" Because this was the. longest they had gone in their. friendship without talking. So, she. found it very odd. >> Now, at this point, it appears that. Sariah's friends think she's at work, but her manager apparently gets a text. saying she's calling out. And now people. are starting to get a little suspicious, especially since the prosecutor says.

Sarah, who's typically glued to her. phone, no one's heard from her. Now, it's been two days since the group's. night out. Monday, August 7th came. The defendant went to work. You heard from one of his friends that. he works with on base at the army that. he seemed a little off. So he asked, "Is. everything okay?". He said, "Yeah, just stuff going on.

I'll talk to you about it later.". That's it. Then about midday, early afternoon, Marie gets a call from Sarah's phone. again. It's Mr. Hildbrand. He says, "Hey, Sariah's been missing. since 10:00 a.m. yesterday.". Marie goes, "What do you mean? What? It's been 30 hours. She doesn't. have her phone." She immediately gets.

concerned. She tells him, "I'll come over as soon. as I can, right after work." But she was. stuck there. for a few more hours and she did go. straight over. She asked, "Have you reported her. missing? Where where could she be? She's. so concerned for her friend because. she's been missing for so long and she. doesn't have her phone and she didn't. hear from her. Once Marie was with the defendant, that's when calls started being made to.

hospitals, jails, and even to 911, which hadn't been done yet. Marie made. that call. >> Hi. Um, I think my friend is missing. Okay. >> And what? Why do you think she's missing. or she's missing? Uh, I haven't spoken to her in two days. and her husband hasn't heard from her in. over a day, like 30 hours now. >> And you'll hear the entirety of that.

call. He was there and Marie put it on. speaker so he could he could answer. questions that she didn't know. But Marie made that call at 5:34 p.m. While they waited for an AP officer to. arrive, they started searching. The apartments at 5210 Marking at the. bottom of your screen up in the top. right on tutor is where Sia worked at.

Red and Brew. So they started searching. that area. Where could she be? Walking. around through the woods getting muddy. During that time, Marie was searching. She had called 911. The defendant's with. her and they're waiting on APD. where he. has to call a few more times to update. APD where they are when they're coming. That's not the only call that was made. to inform Sarah missing. Meredith. Barney, Sarah's mother, got a call in.

Utah at 7:44 p.m. Alaska time, almost 10. p.m. her time, from the defendant, Zerbrand. A Sarai is missing. for over 33 hours. He told that same. scripted story. left for work at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Didn't take her phone. Haven't heard from her. Meredith immediately jumped on a plane. She's coming to find her daughter. On.

the plane, she's coordinating with her. family. to make a missing poster to try to find. Sariah to even figure out if she can. track a phone. All of those things, but she didn't find her that day. One other thing on Monday, August 7th. is APD Officer Zang did respond and he. asked the defendant many questions. Has.

Sariah ever gone missing before? No. We. get that same scripted answer. Left at. 10 a.m. to walk to work. Didn't have her. phone. Haven't seen her. Don't know what. happened. He asks, "Has she ever had to several. tendencies or something that could. explain this?" He says, "No, not at all. I don't know where she is. She was. wearing all black when she went to work. Black graphic tea. Don't know where. Forgot her phone. She's gone.". Later that evening, one of Marie and the. defendant's mutual friends, Dalen Gates,

came over. Dalen worked in the army with the. defendant, and he knew Marie through. other mutual friends. Marie at that point was covered in mud. Was late in the evening. She had to go. let her dog out. So she briefly crossed. paths with Dalen. But Dalen was the one. who went inside and spent time time with. him to check on his friend. He was. concerned for him, made him dinner, and. then he watched as Kilderbrand cried. I. think it was ugly cried and said, "I'm.

blaming myself. It's all my fault.". But then I I should have driven her to. work that morning crying as his friend's. trying to console him thinking his wife. is missing. >> So prosecutors raise an important point. It allegedly took Zaryas, her husband, at least a day to report his wife. missing. And now at this point, her. family and friends are looking for her. Zaryas allegedly tells police it isn't. in Sarah's character to run away. And. he's allegedly crying to his friends.

that it's his fault. And the prosecutor. also mentions that it's not just police. looking for Sarah. Military resources. are now being used. More than 70. soldiers reportedly helped scan the. area. But the one person who apparently. didn't participate in the initial. search. The defendant, her husband, allegedly said he lost his wallet. Had. to sit out. So with no signs of Sariah. anywhere, detectives start reviewing the. evidence that they have so far, right? the statements, the 911 calls, and they.

even went to speak with the defendant. himself at this shared apartment. >> He let them in. He talked to them. He. gave that same scripted story. Left for. work at 10:00 a.m., forgot her phone. Don't know what happened. He told them, "Uh, I was home all Sunday, just vegetating, you know, kind of. recovering. Um, didn't leave the house.". So they start asking him, okay, what. happened Sunday morning? Says they woke.

up at 8:30 or 9 after sleeping in the. same bed together. and that she at 10:00 went to work. 10:00 walked to work, which was her. first time doing that as she had never. walked before. He explained that she may. have they may have still been a little. buzzed. She was hesitant about driving. However, when he was asked what time she was. expected home, he said 700 p.m. on.

Sunday, August 6th. He didn't see her at 7:00 p.m. So, he. decided to wait, according to what he. told detectives, until 9:00 p.m. to make. sure she wasn't lost or something. And then he said that he went out. searching, drove in the parking lot of. bread and brew, looked all over. And we'll get to what he did that day. and evening in a moment. When asked, "Why did you wait so long,

over 30 hours, to report her missing?". He said, "I didn't know if it was. serious. I didn't want to waste anybody's time. When Detective Clark asked, "Where do. you think we're going to find Sariah?". He paused, hesitated, a breath. You'll. hear. many of those statements, says, "I think she'll be within a 2 to.

three mile radius of here.". We'll later find out that was correct. Now, the prosecutor's eventually going. to talk about where they find Sariah, but first, she brings up some arguably. suspicious items in the apartment. >> Well, officers were speaking with him, Detective Clark and Detective Elby. They were looking around the apartment. and they were in the living room with. him. They saw a set of brand new sheets. on the table. They asked him about it. He said, "Ah, I didn't buy those.

I've never even been at the sheet aisle. in Fred Meyer.". Um, she must have bought them when I was. on field training the week before. Okay. Officers ask if they can take a look. around the apartment. Just make sure. she's not there in one of the rooms. They can't see. He allows them. He says, "Go ahead, take a look." Officers do. They don't find Sariah. At one point they notice that on his bed. that he shared with Sariah is a mattress.

pad, like a mattress topper cover. And. they ask, "Hey, why don't you have. sheets on the bed?" He says, "I do. They're under the mattress topper.". Detectives go, "Why would why would you. put them under the mattress topper?" He. says, "Oh, we got him. We got the. mattress from someone crummy. That's. why. Here, I'll show you." And he lifts. the edge of the mattress topper, showing. the sheets. However, when he does that, detectives can see that there's a space. under the bed. There's not a box spring. They ask, "Hey, can we take a look under.

there?". Mr. Hildebrand gives an alternative. offer. I have embarrassing stuff under. there. It's inappropriate. Detectives just point out they want to. make sure she's not under there. He. says, "No, she's not. She wouldn't fit.". detectives accept that answer at that. time and leave. But before they did, they asked a few. more questions, including, "Hey, you have your her phone right now." We.

just saw her mom grab it with her. laptop. Can you explain to me how if she left at. 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, how did Nadia Jones get a text at 10:44. if you had her phone? I don't have an explanation for that, sir. That was his response. I don't have. an explanation for that. That night or in that evening, the. defendant also stopped by her work for.

the first time. Went inside on Tuesday, August 8th. One of the employees he had contact with. was Kaani Thompson. She wasn't super close with Sariah, but. worked with her. Knew her fairly well. knew that she had gone out on Saturday, wasn't shocked that she didn't come in. on Saturday. But when he came in, Kaani will tell you. about how weird his vibe was. He was. nervous, kept scratching, wouldn't look.

her in the eye, look anywhere else. So, she thought that was odd and she. started asking him questions. He. wouldn't answer. She was told by some. people, "Don't push him. His wife's. missing.". However, when she saw the defendant outside with. some of that army search crew that we. talked about, he was laughing and. smiling and joking around. I think she. described it as they were hehahaing, which she found very concerning because.

Sariah's missing. But that's what the defendant did. Now, Wednesday, August 9th, you're out this investigation. Actually, I want to back up to one more. point. When he spoke to detectives on the ETH. originally, he said I was home. vegetating all day. When they said, "Hey, we'll check cameras. Is there. anything else?" He goes, "Oh, actually, I ran some errands." I went to Fred. Myers and got stuff for guacamole salsa. And I also went to Brown Jug.

So, he changed that from being home all. day. >> At this point, the defendant is. allegedly struggling to reason with. police on why texts were coming from. Sarah's phone when, according to Zaryus, she left her phone at home when she. walked to work. And even Sariah's. coworker reportedly noticed something. was off when she spoke with the. defendant. Also, there's the fact that. he allegedly told police he, you know, veges out, vegetates out on Sunday, and. then said he was actually running. errands. It's those errands that are. going to show up again during this.

opening statement. We're fast forwarding. to August 9th, so now 4 days since the. group's night out, and police are at the. couple's apartment again, this time with. a search warrant. >> On the surface, just they were there. There wasn't anything obviously out of. the concern. Pickle Rick made it back on. the bed, but when they began to look more. closely, they were able to start seeing reddish. brown stains. When they began to look more closely,

they could see those reddish brown. stains. multiple faces all over the apartment. And that's what they saw when they. lifted the bed. Not embarrassing sex stuff, but a. mattress so soaked through with blood. that when it was flipped, the framing it was on actually imprinted. into the blood. They also observed moth buckets. and disinfecting wipes, multiple things.

throughout the apartment. There'll be ample evidence as to what. crime scene found in his apartment. Another thing they found is in the K in. the living room in between the couch. cushions. Tan Sig sour handgun tucked in between. the things. just near there on a table. They found. letters offered by authored by the. defendant where he says, "I don't know. where you are. I hope you're found.

alive. If not, if she's found alive or. dead, please bury her with me. But one. thing he says is, "I loved her in the. past tense.". Sir is still missing. He also drafts one to APD. For all the people working the case, I'm. sorry the information I gave you wasn't. the best. Signed, serious. Between the blood, the. bed sheets, the handgun, these notes.

allegedly written by the defendant, investigators are gearing up to search. closer to the apartment complex for any. signs of Sariah. >> On Thursday, August 10th, they're again. searching that area between her. apartment and bread and broom. And you'll see on maps and photos. throughout this trial that there's a. frontage road less than 100 yards, maybe. a couple hundred yards from the. apartment building. As they're searching, they end up. finding a trash can. 96gallon odor trash.

can with wheels, stickers still on it. Here's brand new. As there was a. landscaping crew that had been. contracted by parks and wreck. They had. been cleaning the area and they found it. and had put it in their truck. May have. been a little excited to get a brand new. trash can, but officers in the area saw. it and said, "Wait.". Because it was relevant to the case. And they looked in that trash can.

There was red brown staining. There was. organic material. They did a full crime scene analysis on. this trash can using forensic. techniques, photographs, and other. things you'll hear throughout this. trial. The next thing they found was just a. couple hundred yards, less than a. quarter mile from that apartment, 5210. Mockingbird. on that same frontage road in that same. area as the trash can. They found the. storm drain. They saw this. The cover.

was on, shown a flashlight through the hole, and. they saw something down there. It's. about 15 ft down with a covert running. side to side. This was the place that Sariah was. found. This was the place where her body was. found. with a bullet wound above her left. eyebrow. She had then. likely dazed in that water. In there was.

a blanket pillow. as well as some tan. military looking gloves. Those were also. in there with her. >> It is terrifying to think about finding. someone's body in that state, in that. location after a painstaking manhunt. And there's more evidence for the. prosecution to go through because you. remember when I mentioned that the. defendant said or allegedly said he was. running errands on the day that Sariah.

disappeared. Here's what those purchase. orders allegedly brought up and how they. were allegedly used. >> Throughout this case, evidence be shown to prove these beyond. a reasonable doubt. Some of those will. be on August 6th. He did go to Fred. Meyer. However, there was no guacamole. supplies when he went the first time at. 12:26 p.m. He purchased Gatorade, marinara sauce, and brand new sheets.

Go watch video of him making that. purchase. He put in his loyalty member. number six points. He went again at 612. where he purchased hydrogen peroxide, other cleaning supplies, Q-tips. Then you went to Lowe's. 8 p.m. bought a 96gallon toar trash can.

Then he went back to Fred Meyer. when apparently he was in the Red and. Brew parking lot or searching the woods. But back to Fred Meyer and bought a new. mattress pad and a red one. All of this evidence will be presented. in the coming weeks. Also found during the crime scene, carpet cleaner. A swab of that carpet. cleaner was sent to the state wide. statewide crime detection in the. laboratory. DNA analysis was performed.

by Dr. Emily Matthews on this as well as. other items. In this case, the swab of. that matched the DNA of Sribrand. We also found that hydrogen peroxide, many other. signs and evidence of cleaning up. >> And the prosecutor also mentions other. experts that she expects to testify in. her case. Firearms expert expected to. explain that it was unlikely to be a. suicide based on distance and stippling.

patterns. Plus, the medical examiner. will testify about Sariah's cause of. death along with more witnesses who. interacted with the defendant around the. time of this killing. You'll. >> hear from Maria Wentz. about how it went that night and what. she found. And when the defendant asked. her before Sarah's body was found, "What. do you what property should I give to. her family?" I was thinking her baby. blanket from her childhood no wedding. ring. Sarah hadn't been found yet. That. was on Wednesday. or Thursday at the latest.

You'll hear from patrol officers who. helped investigate this case and how. evidence was collected, presented, and. sent to the lab. You'll hear from many. detectives who worked with Detective. Clark on their ample interviews with. Sirius Hildebrand and the. inconsistencies they found. And you'll even hear Mr. Hildebrand tell. his mom. after he was arrested in this case, "I've tangled myself in lies. Probably.

can't be undone.". For all of those reasons, after evidence. is presented in the coming weeks, the. state will be before you in closing. Apply those factors to the elements that. I put up showing how the defendant is. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of. murder in the first degree, murder in. the second degree, and tampering with. physical evidence. And we will ask you. to find him guilty at that time. Thank. you. >> So, we're going to have to wait and see. how the prosecution's case unfolds as.

they begin to call witnesses. And we'll. be covering this trial by the way. Gav. gavvel. So make sure to check out all. the coverage on Law and Crime and Court. TV. But let's go back for a second. Okay. Now remember, this is important. Zaryius Hildebrand is innocent. He is. presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Otherwise, this wouldn't be a fair. trial. Right? We've laid out the. statement from the prosecution. We've. laid out the potential evidence that. they're going to have in this case. Now, let's go to the defense. How did the. defense try to argue things away in.

their opening statement or explain. things away or attempt to explain things. away? Here you go. >> This is a case that involves the tragedy. of a young woman who lost her life to an. accident and the story of a scared young. man. The evidence in this case will show that. Zarius Hillbrand made a lot of poor. choices, a lot of mistakes. after he discovered that his wife was.

deceased in their apartment. On the morning of August 6th, 2023, he discovered his wife had died from a. single gunshot wound to her head. The evidence will show that the gunshot. that killed Sariah. was the result of a tragic. self-inflicted accident. >> A self-inflicted accident. Now, that is.

a defense you don't hear very often. It's actually something we kind of. speculated about on our episode the. other day, right, when we talked to Eric. Fattis about this, about what potential. defenses could be there. Now, Zaryus's. attorney is going to get into why this. could be the case in a moment, but. first, this is where she gives the jury. a closer look at the defendant's. childhood. >> Around the age of five, Zerius was taken. into the foster care system. He would be adopted out of foster care.

by his adoptive family. with his adoptive family. Um, his was. with his mother, his father, his older brother, his younger brother. MJ, and his little sister. And Zarius. grew up in Kentucky. He'd graduate from. high school. His oldest brother would.

get in some trouble. And Darius wanted to be a role model. for his little brother MJ. Darius. joined the military after he graduated. from high school. and that's where he met Sir Ryan. >> So, it's clear the defendant did not. have an easy childhood by any means. It. appeared he wanted to set a good example. for his siblings and his adoptive family. and at the time that led to meeting his.

wife Sariah. But the defense doesn't shy. away from their client's flaws. >> Made some poor choices in the. relationship. He would get caught Snapchatting with. women that weren't Sariah. But on his 21st birthday, he was happy. Sariah wanted to celebrate with him. And. so they went out for celebration.

Darius didn't know on August 5th, 2023. the horror he would wake up to the. morning of August 6th, 2023. >> So, it's interesting humanizing him but. also not escaping some problems there, right? Not running away from it. It's. not like they're waiting for a sneak. attack from the prosecution. Now, you. heard the prosecutor's version of events. from the night that the defendant and. Sariah went out with friends for his. birthday. So, pay close attention to how.

the defense attorney explains her. version of the timeline. >> Like many 21 year olds, he went out and. he partied. What do we know about Darius? We know he. likes to drink. He drank before he was 21. He like. whiskey. In fact, he would uh drink so much that. he would fall asleep. And when he turned 21, he was able to do.

this legally in a bar. He's excited. He. started a date in Busters with Sariah, some other friends. Eventually, the. party would go to the Willow, but he. continued to drink. Darius became highly intoxicated. The party decided to move from the.

willow will to the gaslight. Zarius was so intoxicated. that gaslight would not let him in. So, the party is time to end. This is. around 1:00 in the morning on August. 6th. Zarius gets in an Uber with his. wife Sarah, her friend Marie.

He throws up in the Uber. They get back to their apartment, throws. up again. Sarah has to. help him get into the apartment. Darius is sleepy. So, what happened between the time Zarius. got home with Sariah.

and the time that he woke up? on his intoxicated state. Darius's memory. isn't fully functioning. He wakes up on August 6th in the morning. and he discovers that his wife is. deceased in the bed.

She has one gunshot wound to her head. a. gunshot wound that you'll hear from an. expert in this case. that while we don't know the exact. range, the gun was fired from not contact. to up to 12 in. Darius is 21 years old and he's afraid. >> Yeah. According to the defense, Zaryus.

found Sariah with a gunshot wound. And. even if that were true, why would he, as. the prosecutors argued, go to such great. lengths to cover up his wife's death? Here's how the defense attorney explains. it. Fear. is. the motivation behind the reason that. Zarius. did what he did. What you'll hear about,

you'll hear how he pretends that he's. she's missing. You'll hear how he went to Lowe's. You'll hear how he purchased a garbage. can. You'll hear. where his wife was discovered. You will hear those things. >> Now, keep in mind, the prosecution has. the burden of proof in this case. It. wouldn't be the first time that I've. seen a case where the defense may. suggest, you know what, they were part.

of the cover up, the panic, the cleanup, but they didn't contribute to the. killing in any way. Okay, I've seen that. before. But the defense uses the end of. this opening statement to point out a. key piece of evidence that she believes. is missing. Uh you won't hear from a single witness. who was there. when the gun was fired.

And so while you will not like what you. hear like they already did after the. fact. while you will see graphic pictures. and you will likely be angry. at what Mr. Mr. Hilderbr did after he.

discovered his wife deceased. The evidence simply will not show. that Zarius pulled the trigger. That. will not be shown.

This case is about a young man. who made a horrible mistake. This is about the fear. that happens in the choices people make. when they're put in unthinkable. circumstances. This case is a tragedy. It's. heartbreaking.

It's not murder. That is why at the conclusion of this. trial, we'll be asking you as a jury. to find that Mr. Heler. is not guilty of the accusations in this. case. Thank you. So, look, we'll see. over the next few days what witnesses. have to say, whether the jury believes. this was a horrific accident or a.

coldblooded murder. But for now, those. are the openings. But that's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. And as always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. You can. also check us out on NBC's Peacock as. well. If you want to follow me, X. Instagram, my NewsNation show, Jesse. Weber live, Monday through Friday, 11 pm. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.