Kalispell Man Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison for Killing His Wife

The 35-year-old Kalispell man convicted of murdering his wife in December 2020 was sentenced Tuesday to 100 years in the Montana State Prison, a punishment the victim’s mother said brings family members some closure so they can now turn their attention to raising the couple’s four young children.

A jury found Bradley Jay Hillious guilty of felony deliberate homicide on Jan. 14 following a 10-day trial. Although he has continually maintained his innocence in the death of his wife, Amanda Hillious, jurors did not believe his version of events and rendered the guilty verdict after just five hours of deliberation.  

On March 8, Judge Robert B. Allison presided over the sentencing hearing in Flathead County District Court, where he accepted the state’s sentencing recommendation of 100 years.

“The harm caused in this case was as bad as it gets,” Allison said. “A life was taken – this was determined by a jury … Mr. Hillious is not a serious repeat offender, but based on the findings of the jury, he is most certainly violent.”

During the sentencing hearing, Hillious read a tear-filled statement with shaking hands, telling the court, including several members of the victim’s family, that he loved his wife and their four children. He also implied that his father, who died by suicide shortly after Amanda’s death, was the true offender.

“I have pleaded and maintain my innocence throughout this whole process,” Hillious said. “I will continue to maintain my absolute innocence until the real truth is acknowledged. There is no conclusive evidence to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that I was in fact the person that caused the death of another, especially with a more likely suspect who is known (to be) violent and hostile toward others.”

Both of the victim’s parents testified at the hearing, imploring the court to impose the maximum sentence of 100 years.

“I was actually shocked,” said Michelle Wungluck, the victim’s mother, in an interview with the Beacon. “I did not anticipate he would get the maximum.”

“I miss Amanda terribly and now I have four children to raise – they are my number one priority,” she added. “This does give me some closure now and the sentence was the best I could have hoped for – it did bring a sense of relief.”

Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner argued at trial that Hillious killed his wife deliberately, a theory he said is supported by physical evidence of her extensive injuries and circumstantial evidence of his extramarital affair. An autopsy revealed strangulation, a lack of oxygen to her brain, numerous contusions, and other injuries as contributing to her death, which the prosecutor said the result of the defendant’s deliberate actions to “get rid of Amanda” so he could marry his mistress.

Jami Rebsom, the defense attorney who represented Hillious at trial, said at the sentencing hearing there was no direct evidence tying her client’s actions to the victim’s death. Instead, she argued that many of Amanda’s injuries were caused by aggressive medical care following an accidental fall down a flight of stairs. She also said Amanda’s father-in-law was likely the offender; however, he was never considered a suspect during the investigation.

“I don’t see any evidence in this case presented by the state that points to beyond reasonable doubt that Amanda was killed by the hands of another, or more importantly that it was Brad Hillious,” Rebsom said. “We believe that Brad was convicted because he had a girlfriend.”

Rebsom requested a new trial last month on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, a motion Judge Allison denied on March 7. The defense attorney argued that prosecutorial misconduct occurred during the state’s closing arguments, and that the trial should have been held at a venue outside Flathead County to select a jury that hadn’t been influenced by pre-trial publicity.

Rebsom said during the hearing that Hillious would appeal the conviction, due in large part to restrictions Judge Allison placed on the defense as well as other violations of the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

Before the trial began, Judge Allison restricted attorneys from introducing evidence surrounding Scott Hillious’ death, saying it would only serve “as an incredible distraction.”

The defense attorney said the restriction limited her ability to raise issues surrounding Scott’s suicide, a deficiency Rebsom said impeded on her client’s right to a fair trial.

“It was pretty upsetting to our right to a fair trial that during that trial, we were really limited on arguing Scott’s suicide,” Rebsom said. “I wasn’t able to describe that as a confession and I believe it truly was.”

“There were a lot of issues that we dealt with both before the trial and during and even after and many of those issues will be considered by an appellate court,” Allison said.