An Alaska woman has been found guilty of murdering a man who was appointed as her court supervisor just one day before his death.
Keith Huss, 57, was found dead on September 29, 2020, at a rest area in Hope, Alaska, according to a press release from the state’s Department of Law... Continue reading here ▶
On Monday, December 23, a jury convicted Sarah Dayan of his murder and several related crimes.
During the investigation, police discovered that Huss had been appointed as Dayan’s third-party court supervisor on September 28, 2020, as part of her bail conditions. Huss was last seen picking up Dayan from a correctional facility in Kenai. The two were reportedly heading to Anchorage, where Huss worked at a food truck.
The next morning, a motorist found Huss’s body at a rest area and called the authorities. Investigators found that Huss had been shot four times and hit by a vehicle.
After a statewide manhunt, state troopers arrested Dayan on October 1, 2020, in Seward, about two hours from Kenai. Investigators discovered that Dayan had recently bought a pistol matching the murder weapon. They also found that damage to her vehicle was consistent with hitting Huss.
Authorities revealed that after killing Huss, Dayan used his bank account to make purchases and transferred hundreds of dollars to her own account.
Huss’s family remembered him as a larger-than-life personality who loved fishing and building friendships. His obituary described him as someone who turned chance meetings into lifelong relationships.
After the guilty verdict, Huss’s brother, Michael Huss, expressed relief. “We’ve talked a lot about closure, and I didn’t think it was about closure because my brother will always be with us,” he told KTUU. “But I didn’t realized how much weight was on us to find justice for Keith. It’s been over four years, and it’s just a huge relief.”
Dayan was convicted of first- and second-degree murder, burglary, firearm possession, several theft charges, and violating her bail conditions. She is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
