Inset: Keith Huss (Legacy.com). Background: Sarah Dayan (KTUU).
Jurors convicted an Alaska woman of murdering her court-appointed supervisor and ransacking his bank account. Sarah Dayan, 39, is scheduled for sentencing on May 6, 2025. The jury took one-and-half days to determine that she did in fact kill Keith Huss, 57, according to the Alaska Department of Law on Tuesday.
Though they accepted a "heat of passion" defense for the count of murder in the first degree, and for a count of murder in the second degree, it did not apply to the other count of murder in the second degree. Other charges include burglary and theft.
"We've talked a lot about closure I think with our friends and I didn't really think it was about closure because my brother's going to kind of always be with us, but what I didn't appreciate was how much weight was put on us to find justice for Keith, and it's been over four years and it's just a huge relief," Keith's brother, Michael Huss, told CBS/NBC affiliate KTUU.
Dayan had been released on bail on Sept. 28, 2020, in another case, but as a condition, she had to go with Keith Huss, who would serve as her court-appointed supervisor.
"That same day, Keith picked Dayan up from jail at the Wildwood Correctional Complex in Kenai," they said. "The two were seen getting into Dayan's vehicle, and their stated plan was to drive to Anchorage to work at Keith's food truck."
But troopers say that Dayan got her hands on a .45 caliber handgun shortly after getting out of jail. A passing driver found Huss' body at the Turnagain Pass Rest Area on Sept. 29, 2020. He had been shot four times with the .45 caliber gun and struck with a vehicle. Authorities say Dayan did it.
"Troopers observed damage to Dayan's vehicle that was consistent with it having been used to strike Mr. Huss," they said. "A review of Mr. Huss's bank account revealed that Dayan had used his bank account to purchase items for herself and had transferred hundreds of dollars from his bank account to hers after his death. Troopers additionally linked Dayan to a series of vehicle thefts in Seward as well as the burglary of a cabin in Seward that were committed while she fled from police."
Dayan was arrested Oct. 1, 2020, in the city of Seward, which is south of Anchorage. The murder charges will be merged at her sentencing, where she faces 15 to 99 years in prison.
