Ataja Banks, 18, remembered by family and friends. Photo courtesy of Azja Banks via Facebook.
By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | March 2026
PALMER, Alaska – Ian Travis Millard is scheduled for arraignment this afternoon in Palmer Superior Court in connection with the 2023 death of Ataja Banks, an 18-year-old Anchorage woman whose family reported her missing in October of that year. Court records show Millard will appear at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 3 before Judge Glenn J. Shidner. He remains in custody at the Mat‑Su Pretrial Facility.
Millard faces two counts of Second‑Degree Murder, Manslaughter, and Tampering with Physical Evidence. Ataja Banks had last been heard from in mid‑September 2023, and her remains were later found near Moose Meadows Road in Wasilla. Law enforcement said evidence collected during the investigation indicates she was killed.
Millard was taken into custody on March 6, 2026, following a Palmer grand jury indictment, with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation handling the case. Today’s arraignment will formally advise Millard of the charges.
The hearing may shed more light on Banks’ death and the circumstances that led to the indictment.
