More of that vaunted Christian morality:
I know this is Yang's Job but I thought this was a good one,
even though it is rather old. I think about the poor woman
every time I drive by their old house, around once a month or so.
THe man was later convicted, but this tells the story
better than that article.
Larry.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/mar/10/sex_motive_behind/
Sex motive behind wife's slaying, prosecutors say
Mistress, daughter testify as ex-Christian school
leader ordered to stand trial
By Eric Weslander (Contact)
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Prosecutors alleged Wednesday that a well-known carpenter
and former Christian school leader strangled his wife so he
could pursue relationships with other women.
"It's very clear that ... divorce was not an option, that it was
frowned upon by the Lord, he believed," Assistant Dist. Atty.
Brandon Jones said. "This was the easier way out for him,
rather than divorce."
At the time of his wife's death, Martin K. "Marty" Miller,
46, was advertising himself on Internet dating sites and
having an affair with a woman he'd met in an online adult
chat room, according to testimony at Miller's preliminary
hearing in District Court.
The daylong hearing was the first time prosecutors have
described evidence against Miller. At the end of the hearing,
Judge Paula Martin ordered Miller to stand trial even though
she found there was no "direct evidence" linking him to the
death.
Instead -- as in the case of a Kansas State University professor
on trial this month in a neighboring courtroom for the stabbing
of his ex-wife -- the case against Miller will rely on circumstantial
evidence, such as inconsistent statements and suspicious Internet
searches.
The two key witnesses against Miller are his junior-high-age
children, who say they heard their mother scream and make
raspy noises during the night.
"It was a very frightened scream," 14-year-old Melodie Miller
testified on Wednesday. "It sounded muffled."
What happened
According to testimony, Miller told police that on the evening
of his wife's death, he stayed home and watched TV while his
wife and children went to vacation Bible school at Victory Bible
Church, 1942 Mass.
When they got home, his son went to bed first. Mary Miller, a
librarian at Kansas University, went grocery shopping, then
worked on cooking lunch for the next day.
Miller said he went to bed about 11 p.m., and his wife later
joined him. The last one up in the house was Melodie, who
testified she stayed up chatting with friends on the Internet.
Martin K. Miller, left, appears in Douglas County District
Court with his attorney Mark Manna, right, in his preliminary
hearing on a charge that he asphyxiated his wife, Mary Miller.
Judge Paula Martin ruled Wednesday that there was enough
evidence for a trial, and set a date in June.
She said she got into bed about midnight, heard footsteps
coming toward her room, and saw someone she thought was
her father stick his head in the door and look at her.
"I was kind of pretending to be asleep," she testified. "I wasn't
supposed to be up that late."
Melodie testified she then heard the beep of a computer
starting up in the next room, which was used as an office.
Then she fell asleep.
Muffled noises
About 12:48 a.m., someone using a computer in the office
searched Google.com for "sleep pattern" and "deepest 'sleep
pattern,'" according to Lawrence Police Detective Scott
Slifer, who examined the computers seized from Miller's
home.
Marty Miller told police that he got up about 2 a.m. that
night, told his wife his hip was hurting, went to get a
pain-reliever and fell asleep in a recliner in another room.
He told police he awoke about 6 a.m. in the chair and heard
his wife's alarm going off. When he came into the room, he
said, he nudged her and could tell she was dead, police said.
His children told a different story.
Melodie Miller testified she woke up at an unknown time
during the night and heard her mother screaming. She said
her mother was saying, "No" and "Please Don't," and she
heard her father say "shh," "calm down" and "it's going to be OK."
Dist. Atty. Charles Branson, left, and Assistant Dist. Atty.
Brandon Jones, right, confer in Douglas County District Court
before the preliminary hearing for Martin K. Miller. Miller is
charged with killing his wife, Mary Miller.
"I figured she was trying to hide under the covers because
she was having a nightmare," Melodie Miller said.
Her younger brother, Matthew -- whose bedroom is closer to
the parents' room -- testified he heard his mother making
raspy sounds and heard his father's voice in the room, but
he couldn't recall exact words.
In an interview that morning at the police department, Miller
told detectives he didn't have an explanation for his children
hearing screams, Detective Jack Cross said. Miller told police
he didn't hear anything because he'd been sleeping.
'Bible study'
Inside the Miller's home, police found the book "Living With
Your Husband's Secret Wars," a Christian-oriented book to
help women deal with their husbands' sexual addictions.
Based on information provided to police by Miller's daughter,
detectives asked Miller whether he knew a woman named
Carole Parbs. Miller initially described Parbs as a family
friend, then admitted he'd had a sexual affair with her after
meeting in an online adult chat room, Cross testified.
Parbs took the stand Wednesday and said that after the couple
met online and had their first sexual encounters, she moved
from Roeland Park to Eudora. Parbs said that to conceal
their affair, she went as far as getting a false Eudora telephone
listing under the name "Fred & Randi Peters."
Miller would come to her home for a liaison after telling
his wife he was going to Bible study at Fred Peters' house,
Parbs said.
Eventually the couple talked about getting married. Parbs said
she became involved in the Millers' church and school activities.
But Miller told her that if he got a divorce, he could lose his
position on the Veritas board of directors, lose his home and
shop, and have a rift with his daughter, she said.
"He knew that according to scriptures, God was very much
against divorce," Parbs said.
Parbs said that shortly after Mary Miller's death, Marty Miller
mentioned to her that he couldn't collect life insurance because
he didn't have a death certificate. On cross-examination, defense
attorney Mark Manna asked whether Miller ever talked about
killing his wife. Parbs said no.
Slifer, who examined Miller's computers, found that on the
morning of the death, Marty Miller sent Parbs an e-mail that
read, "Mary died in her sleep. Don't know why. MKM."
Slifer also described finding thousands of pornographic images
and nearly 300 pornographic videos on Miller's computer, some
hidden in invisible folders.
Evidence challenged
Police didn't arrest Miller after his initial interview.
Instead, they waited until Coroner Erik Mitchell examined
Mary Miller's body and ruled it a homicide.
Mitchell testified Wednesday that his internal examination
of her neck showed bruising that indicated there had been
force applied to the neck.
Manna asked Mitchell whether he agreed with the findings of
another medical examiner who believed the cause of death
was the crook of an elbow pushing on the middle of the neck.
"I think that's an overstatement," Mitchell said.
Martin scheduled Miller's two-week trial to start June 13.
His next court date will be May 5. He remains free on
$150,000 bond.
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