- 1 day ago
World's Most Evil Killers S06E04 Don Miller
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00On the 16th of August, 1978, a man strolled into a house in East Lansing, Michigan,
00:07and violently attacked two children in their family home.
00:10He sliced the throat of 13-year-old Randy Gilbert
00:14after assaulting Randy's 14-year-old sister, Lisa.
00:18I've had a fear from day one, and still do,
00:21that he'll come back and he'll try to find us.
00:23The assailant was 23-year-old Don Miller,
00:27a serial murderer who'd killed his fourth victim
00:30just two days before the attack on Lisa Gilbert.
00:33After he was done raping her, Don Miller sat on her back
00:37and took a small belt that she had had on her shorts
00:40and wrapped it around her throat and began to strangle her.
00:44Amazingly, both Lisa and Randy managed to survive at the hands of the killer,
00:49who was a respected member of the local church.
00:52It never leaves you.
00:54I will never forget this case.
00:56I think a lot of people in the East Lansing community
00:59never forget this case either.
01:02Don Miller, a supposedly heavenly man with a hellish lust for blood,
01:07had been revealed as one of the world's most evil killers.
01:31In July 1979, 24-year-old Don Miller led investigators
01:37to the bodies of three of the four women he'd killed.
01:41Detectives were only just beginning to learn about his murderous career.
01:47The true extent of Miller's crimes was only revealed
01:50after the supposed Christian was arrested for the attempted murder
01:54of 13-year-old Randy Gilbert
01:56and the rape and attempted murder of Randy's 14-year-old sister, Lisa.
02:02My true belief is if you are a true Christian like he explains that he is,
02:10he would have never even thought of doing what he did.
02:14To me, that is not a true Christian.
02:18And I don't care how long you've gone to church,
02:20what you've done in church,
02:22you do not commit the crimes like he committed
02:25and be a Christian.
02:27My sister and I don't even really talk about it to each other.
02:31It's just something that I know what happened to her,
02:33she knows what happened to me.
02:35I don't deal with it very well.
02:39I carry such a guilt of this whole thing
02:44that, you know, if I had been home where I was supposed to be,
02:50you know, none of this may have happened.
02:53Miller's story fascinates former local police officer
02:57turned author Rod Sadler,
02:59who's written a book all about the quiet but deadly killer.
03:04Don Miller took the lives of four women.
03:10Don Miller raped a 14-year-old girl
03:12and then tried to strangle her and her brother.
03:17Don Miller is a psychopath.
03:22The story of this saint-turned-sinner
03:25begins in East Lansing, Michigan.
03:28Don Miller was born in December 1954.
03:32As the oldest of three siblings,
03:35he was raised by his church-going parents
03:37to be an upright, highly-principled young man.
03:41There isn't anything in his childhood.
03:43He doesn't appear to experience any abuse,
03:45any neglect, anything like that,
03:47that we very commonly see
03:48in the backgrounds of serial killers.
03:50He seems to be a God-fearing Christian.
03:52He seems to be somebody who has that moral high ground.
03:58After graduating high school,
04:00Miller began studying at Michigan State University
04:03in the autumn of 1973,
04:06where he would eventually end up taking a course
04:09in criminal justice at a time of fashion flamboyance,
04:14Miller was a square peg in a round hole.
04:17There were no T-shirts and jeans and free love,
04:21and he always wore a jacket and tie.
04:24He looked incredibly upright.
04:25He looked like a choir boy.
04:26His hair was slicked back.
04:28He carried a trombone with him everywhere that he went
04:31because he was in the band.
04:33And that made him unusual,
04:34and that made him noticeable
04:36because he was actually
04:38a very non-noticeable type of a person.
04:43He also didn't really have many close friends.
04:46His sister appeared to be his closest friend.
04:49So he was one of those kids
04:51who was really not part of the crowd.
04:55He was excluded, in a way, from his peer group.
04:59Despite his social awkwardness,
05:02by the winter of 1976,
05:0421-year-old Miller was engaged
05:06to fellow MSU student and churchgoer,
05:09Martha Sue Young.
05:11She was a very outgoing person,
05:14and Don Miller was essentially a homebody.
05:18And the only place that Don Miller ever took Martha Sue Young
05:21would be to prayer groups through the church that they attended.
05:26But during the holidays,
05:2819-year-old Martha decided to end the engagement,
05:32much to Miller's annoyance.
05:34He feels let down.
05:37He feels spurned.
05:39He feels rejected.
05:40And he doesn't take rejection well.
05:44But nevertheless, he pleads with her for another chance.
05:48And on New Year's Eve, 1976,
05:52he persuades her to let him go with her
05:55to a babysitting job she's got that night.
06:00And after they finished babysitting,
06:03Don Miller took Martha Sue Young back to his house,
06:06and they watched a movie.
06:08And they had some pizza and pop,
06:10and Don said he was going to take Martha Sue Young home.
06:14And they left at about 10.30 or 11 o'clock,
06:17and that was the last time
06:20that Martha Sue Young was ever seen alive.
06:28Martha's desperately worried parents called the police.
06:31Detective Richard Westgate was assigned the case.
06:35We received a call at the East Lansing Police Department
06:38that Martha Sue Young
06:41supposedly never arrived back at her house
06:45in East Lansing
06:46by the boyfriend's father, Eugene Miller,
06:52after Martha Sue Young's mother, Sue Young,
06:56had called the Miller house
06:58wanting to know where her daughter Martha Sue Young is.
07:01We became involved in that case right after that.
07:05From our conversations with Martha Sue's mother,
07:09she felt Don was a very controlling person,
07:13controlling to the point that Martha Sue Young
07:16wanted to not be engaged anymore.
07:22Richard's next port of call was Martha's former partner
07:26and the last person to see her before she vanished.
07:29Don Miller stated that he had dropped Martha Sue Young off
07:33at her porch step
07:35and that she sat down on the porch step
07:38in very, very freezing, frigid temperatures
07:43and he drove home.
07:46He shows not a flicker of guilt, remorse, concern.
07:53No, no, I had nothing to do with it.
07:56He perfectly encapsulates for me
07:59that wonderful phrase,
08:01a wolf in sheep's clothing.
08:04He looked for all the world like a choir boy,
08:07but he wasn't.
08:09Martha Sue Young would never return home.
08:13The police didn't know it yet,
08:15but Martha had been strangled to death
08:17by her former fiancée
08:18and fellow church member, Don Miller.
08:21They suspected that Don Miller
08:23was responsible for her disappearance.
08:26They had no proof of that.
08:28They had some indicators that he was a suspect.
08:31They had found some blood in his vehicle
08:35on the morning that she was reported missing,
08:38January 1st, 1977.
08:40He was never able to be prosecuted
08:43on the disappearance of Martha Sue Young
08:46because we had no body.
08:48We did not find a body.
08:52They have this missing woman
08:54and they know that in many cases
08:56they need to look at the ex-partner
08:58or the partner
08:59who is very often something to do with that.
09:01But there was no evidence.
09:04Martha was just missing.
09:05It was very frustrating
09:07to the point that we were not able
09:08to get any straight evidence
09:11or deem evidence worthy enough
09:14to bring prosecution.
09:16So it was very frustrating.
09:19Almost 10 months later,
09:21in thick woodland,
09:23two hunters made a discovery.
09:25The clothes that Martha Sue Young
09:28was wearing on the night
09:29of her disappearance.
09:31Martha Sue Young's bra
09:33was inside of her sweater.
09:35Her sweater was inside of her coat.
09:37Her pants were laid
09:39at the base of her coat.
09:41Her panties were inside of her pants.
09:44Her shoes were at the base
09:45of her pant legs.
09:46And it was as if she had laid down
09:49and simply disappeared.
09:50Her purse was also there as well.
09:53This is a really grim discovery
09:55because I think this confirms
09:57for her parents
09:58and indeed for the police
09:59that she's most definitely
10:00come to harm.
10:02Still without a body,
10:04the police were unable
10:06to arrest Don Miller,
10:07even though he was
10:09the most obvious suspect
10:10in Martha's disappearance.
10:13Miller killed Martha Sue Young
10:15because she compromised
10:17his feelings of control over her.
10:20She called off the engagement
10:22and for somebody like Miller,
10:24women don't get to do that.
10:26For someone like Miller,
10:27the men call the shots.
10:28The women are subservient.
10:30They are passive.
10:32And this chimes very much
10:33with some of his religious beliefs.
10:35So at this point,
10:37he changes the project.
10:38So he stops trying to control her
10:40by keeping her
10:41in a relationship with him.
10:43And instead,
10:44he switches to controlling her
10:46by destroying her
10:47for leaving it.
10:47Don Miller had got away
10:50with murder.
10:51Over the next 19 months,
10:53the evangelical killer
10:55would claim the lives
10:56of another three women
10:57before he turned
10:58his lethal attention
11:00towards two innocent children.
11:10By the summer of 1978,
11:1323-year-old Don Miller
11:15had killed four women
11:17in East Lansing, Michigan,
11:19but the police were unaware.
11:21Miller was about to strike again,
11:23this time on Canal Road
11:25at the home of teenage siblings
11:27Randy and Lisa Gilbert,
11:28whose parents were at work.
11:30It was during the summer,
11:31and I don't remember what he did,
11:34but Randy was grounded.
11:35And every morning,
11:37we would have to call my stepmom
11:39when we got up,
11:40and at three o'clock
11:41in the afternoon
11:43to check in with her,
11:45make sure everything was okay,
11:46and I was ready
11:48to call Donner
11:49for the afternoon,
11:49and I wanted him
11:50right beside me
11:52because I didn't want to lie
11:54and say, you know,
11:55yeah, he's here,
11:56and then her want to talk to him,
11:57and he's not here.
11:58He liked to fish in the pond
12:00behind the house
12:00and hang out
12:01with some friends.
12:02So I went outside
12:04to call him,
12:05and then when I came back
12:07around the front of the house
12:09to go back inside,
12:10which was through the garage,
12:11there was a car parked
12:12in the driveway.
12:14The Gilbert's house
12:15had only recently been built,
12:17and 14-year-old Lisa
12:18assumed the driver
12:20was one of the construction workers
12:21who regularly came
12:23to make repairs.
12:25So I proceeded to walk
12:26into the back door,
12:27and this guy was in my house.
12:29So he walked out the house,
12:31and he says,
12:33is your dad home?
12:33I didn't think anything of it,
12:35and I said, no,
12:35he's working right now,
12:36and he won't be home
12:37until 6 or 6.30.
12:39And he's like,
12:40can I get a number
12:40so that I can talk to him?
12:42And I said, yeah, sure.
12:43So I went over to a cupboard
12:46to get a paper and pencil,
12:49not knowing that he walked
12:51in behind me,
12:53and then he proceeded
12:54to pull out a knife
12:56and hold it to my throat,
12:58and he told me not to speak,
13:01and he said,
13:02don't scream or don't yell.
13:05The petrified 14-year-old
13:07had no option
13:08but to comply
13:09with the stranger.
13:11Don Miller was on the verge
13:13of claiming a fifth victim.
13:15I didn't want to get hurt,
13:16so I just did
13:17what he asked me to do.
13:18I'm not saying
13:19I wasn't smart enough
13:20to figure out ways to get out,
13:23but at that age,
13:25that's the last thing
13:25you're thinking about.
13:28Then he proceeded to take me
13:30into my parents' bedroom
13:33and told me to face down
13:34on the floor, so I did,
13:36and he went into the closet
13:38and was gathering up things,
13:40so he stuffed knee highs
13:42in my mouth
13:43and put a tie around it
13:46and then tied my arms
13:48behind my back
13:49and then tied my ankles.
13:52And there he proceeded
13:54to rape me,
13:55and then he took the belt
13:58that was in my shorts
14:00and proceeded to
14:02start strangling me with it.
14:04Well, the belt was war
14:06and it broke.
14:08After that,
14:09he just proceeded
14:10to choke me with his hands.
14:13And then I was blacking out.
14:15I didn't see anything.
14:16It was like pitch black,
14:18so I know I was ready
14:19to black out,
14:20and that's when Randy walked in.
14:30August 16, 1978,
14:32was a normal summer day for us.
14:36We were on summer break from school.
14:38I was off playing,
14:40just out doing the things
14:41that, you know,
14:41a 13-year-old boy would do.
14:43That day kind of changed, though,
14:45when, out of the blue,
14:48something told me to go home
14:51and I just stopped
14:53what I was doing
14:54and went home.
14:56When Randy entered
14:57the family home,
14:58everything was not as it seemed.
15:01It was really quiet.
15:02I didn't know
15:03where my sister was.
15:05I saw a strange man
15:06come out of my father's bedroom,
15:09and I just stopped
15:10and kind of looked at him,
15:12and he locked eyes with me
15:14and said,
15:16Hi, how you doing?
15:17I said, Hi, back.
15:19And he kind of just
15:21walked around me.
15:23And he quickly grabbed me
15:26from behind
15:26and put a knife to my throat.
15:29And he said,
15:30I'm not going to hurt you.
15:34And at that point,
15:36I'm obviously confused and scared.
15:39Then he asked me
15:41where my room was.
15:42He said,
15:43My room's upstairs.
15:44And he said something to the effect,
15:46Take me to it.
15:49With a knife to the throat
15:51of the 13-year-old,
15:53Miller led Randy up the stairs
15:54and into the teenager's bedroom.
15:58And he put me down on the floor.
16:01And he sat on my back
16:02with my left arm behind my back.
16:05He was holding me there.
16:07And at that point,
16:08scared as I was,
16:10I started to scramble a little bit
16:11as much as I could.
16:12I really couldn't move.
16:14He had me in a good hold.
16:15The older Miller
16:17overpowered the youngster
16:19and began to try
16:20and end Randy's life.
16:22And that's when he started
16:23slicing my throat
16:25with the knife.
16:26Once I saw a little bit of blood,
16:28I kind of panicked,
16:30fought back a little bit more.
16:32Somehow, I was able
16:33to grab the knife
16:34out of his hand
16:35with my free hand
16:37and threw it across the room.
16:40And at that point,
16:42I recall him
16:44strangling me with his hands.
16:46Randy blacked out
16:47and was helpless
16:49to stop Miller's brutal attack.
16:51I was unconscious,
16:53so there was,
16:55you know,
16:56no fighting back.
16:57There was nothing I could do.
16:58I mean,
17:00his intent was to kill me,
17:01obviously.
17:04But once I passed out,
17:05it's the time that he
17:07recovered the knife
17:08that I was able to throw,
17:10stabbed me twice in the chest,
17:12punctured a lung,
17:13and scratched my heart,
17:15they say.
17:16I was that close to my heart.
17:20There was not a whole lot
17:22I really could do.
17:23I couldn't get away.
17:27Couldn't run.
17:29And he left me for dead, so.
17:36Downstairs,
17:37Randy's sister, Lisa,
17:39had miraculously
17:40regained consciousness
17:41and managed to find her way
17:43into her parents' bathroom.
17:45They had a little, uh,
17:47space on,
17:48underneath the bottom shelf
17:49that they put their laundry
17:50and I'm like,
17:51oh, I could sneak in here
17:52and hide
17:53and he won't find me.
17:56So I crawled under there.
17:58Don't ask me
17:59how my size of my body
18:00could fit into a small area,
18:02but I made it.
18:04And then as I'm in there,
18:06I'm realizing,
18:07you can get out.
18:09You can get out
18:09and get some help.
18:10What are you doing sitting,
18:11laying in here?
18:13Summoning up the courage
18:14to look for help,
18:15Lisa managed to loosen
18:17her shackles
18:17and make a run for it.
18:20My ankles became untied,
18:22but my hands were still tied
18:24behind my back
18:24and the tie had fallen
18:26from around my mouth.
18:29So when I got to the front door,
18:31I unlocked the door
18:33with my hands behind my back
18:36and proceeded to basically
18:38run out in the street
18:41with no clothes on.
18:43When I ran to the first car,
18:45he just slowed down
18:47and then he just went around me.
18:48And I'm like,
18:49I'd be damned
18:50if the next one's
18:50going to get past me.
18:51So when it got closer,
18:53I jumped in front of it.
18:55He stopped
18:55and then I went on
18:56to his side of the truck
18:58screaming,
18:58help, please help my brother,
18:59please help my brother.
19:00Somebody's inside
19:01trying to kill my brother.
19:02The driver pulled over
19:03and headed towards the house
19:05to confront the attacker
19:06who'd left Randy for dead.
19:09Upstairs, the 13-year-old
19:11had somehow survived
19:13the vicious attack
19:14and was lying in a pool of blood
19:16on his bedroom floor.
19:18The next thing I realized
19:20is I woke up
19:22and I'm covered in blood.
19:25I ran downstairs
19:26and I was going
19:27to the front door of the house,
19:29which was near the bottom
19:30of the stairs.
19:31And I threw open
19:33the front door
19:33to get out of the house.
19:35I saw that car
19:37that I saw earlier
19:39in the driveway
19:40tearing out of the yard,
19:42out into the road
19:43and taking off.
19:46Miller had evaded
19:48the kindly driver
19:49who'd stopped
19:50to help Lisa,
19:51but not before the man
19:53had memorized
19:53his license plate.
19:55The police came,
19:57the ambulance came,
19:58and then the last thing
20:00I remember was
20:01getting in the ambulance
20:04upset,
20:05you know,
20:06saying,
20:06is my brother going to die?
20:07Is my brother going to die?
20:08Is my brother going to die?
20:09This whole time,
20:11I didn't see my sister,
20:12I didn't hear my sister,
20:14I had no clue
20:15where she even was.
20:17But once I got
20:17into the ambulance,
20:18I heard her crying.
20:21Didn't know what happened
20:22to her at this point.
20:24But I knew
20:25we were all
20:26in a safe place.
20:27And he kind of, like,
20:29lifted up off the gurney
20:30and said,
20:31sis, I'm okay.
20:32We're going to the hospital.
20:34I'm okay.
20:35And I said,
20:35all right.
20:36So then I sat right next to him
20:37until we got to the hospital.
20:39Lisa and Randy Gilbert's lives
20:41would never be the same again.
20:44But ultimately,
20:45Don Miller had failed
20:47in his attempt
20:47to kill
20:48for a fifth time.
20:50The attack
20:50on the Gilbert children
20:51was so different
20:52from the previous attacks
20:55that he'd made.
20:56It tells us
20:57how emboldened he was,
20:58how confident he was.
21:00He felt completely untouchable.
21:02He's killed multiple people
21:03at this point in time
21:05and he hasn't got caught.
21:06There have been no consequences.
21:08So he feels
21:09that he can do
21:09whatever he likes now.
21:11Miller was on the run
21:13while Lisa and Randy
21:14were still coming to terms
21:16with what had happened
21:17at their home
21:18on Canal Road.
21:20I didn't find out
21:22until later
21:22after we were
21:23in the hospital
21:24that she had also
21:26been strangled
21:27and she was raped.
21:29I didn't quite
21:29understand that
21:30as a 13-year-old boy
21:32what all that
21:33really meant
21:36at that time.
21:38But, uh,
21:41I'm thankful
21:42that she's still with us.
21:45I feel if,
21:48you know,
21:49if I hadn't,
21:49if I hadn't come home
21:51like I did,
21:53I don't know
21:54what would have happened
21:54to her.
21:57I believe that
21:59my brother
22:00came in
22:01just at the perfect timing
22:03because if not,
22:04I would have been gone.
22:05And if it wasn't
22:06for me getting out,
22:08we both would have been gone.
22:10Don Miller
22:11had left behind
22:12two survivors
22:13and his license plate number
22:15had been recorded.
22:16The game was seemingly up,
22:18but first the police
22:19needed to track him down
22:22before he could kill again.
22:33On the 16th of August,
22:351978,
22:3623-year-old Don Miller
22:38had attempted
22:39to murder
22:40two teenagers
22:41at their home
22:42in East Lansing,
22:43Michigan.
22:45Before fleeing the scene,
22:47Miller's license plate number
22:49had been taken
22:50and passed on
22:51to the police.
22:52The East Lansing
22:54Police Department
22:55were familiar
22:55with Don Miller
22:56because he was
22:57obviously
22:58the suspect
23:00in Martha Sue Young's
23:02disappearance.
23:03They knew
23:03where he worked,
23:04they knew
23:05where his parents lived,
23:06and they knew
23:07where his new girlfriend lived.
23:09Detective Richard Westgate
23:11had worked
23:11on the Martha Sue Young case
23:13since her disappearance
23:14on New Year's Day
23:15in 1977.
23:16He'd always suspected
23:18Miller of foul play,
23:19but could never prove it.
23:21The license plate number
23:23was put out
23:24as soon as I heard
23:26that it was
23:26Don Miller's car.
23:29I went,
23:30along with other investigators,
23:32to Don Miller's
23:34new girlfriend's house,
23:36basically just waited,
23:37and then I saw
23:39his car pull up.
23:40I pulled my car
23:42behind him,
23:44ordered him out
23:45of the car
23:46at gunpoint,
23:47and his reaction was,
23:50what's going on?
23:51I've just been shopping.
23:53Why are you doing this?
23:55And other officers
23:57then came to assist.
23:58We put him
23:59in handcuffs
24:00and secured him
24:01to the East Lansing
24:03Police Department.
24:05Miller was interrogated
24:06about the attack
24:07on Lisa
24:08and Randy Gilbert.
24:10Detective Norm Kelly
24:11interviewed him
24:12and confronted him
24:14with the fact
24:15that witnesses
24:17had gotten
24:18his license plate number,
24:20had picked him
24:20out of a photo lineup,
24:22had described him
24:23to a T,
24:24and yet Miller
24:25maintained
24:26that he didn't know
24:28how that could possibly be
24:30because he wasn't involved.
24:34The information
24:35gathered by witnesses
24:36was enough
24:37for detectives
24:38to arrest Miller,
24:40much to the relief
24:41of 14-year-old Lisa.
24:43I don't quite remember
24:45when I was told,
24:46but when I was,
24:48I was happy
24:49that he was caught,
24:49and I'm like,
24:50are you sure
24:50you got the right one?
24:51Are you sure
24:51you got the right guy?
24:52Are you sure?
24:54Detectives
24:55not only questioned Miller
24:56about the attack
24:57on the Gilberts
24:58and the disappearance
24:59of Martha Sue Young,
25:01they also quizzed him
25:02about three other crimes
25:04that had taken place
25:05in East Lansing
25:06over the previous two months.
25:0927-year-old Marita Choquette
25:11had vanished
25:12on the 15th of June, 1978.
25:16She was taking the trash out,
25:18and she bannered back and forth
25:20jokingly with her neighbor,
25:22and that was the last
25:24she was ever seen.
25:25Marita Choquette's vehicle
25:27was found the next morning
25:28on the Michigan State
25:30University campus,
25:31but it wasn't parked
25:33in its usual position.
25:35And when her boss
25:37arrived at work,
25:38her boss thought,
25:40well, she must be here early,
25:41and as she began
25:43to check around,
25:44she realized
25:45that Marita was not there.
25:47Police didn't have any reason
25:49to link Miller
25:50to Marita at the time,
25:51but they knew for sure
25:53that she had been murdered.
25:55It was about two weeks later
25:57when Marita's body
25:58was discovered
25:59by a farmer
26:00about 10 miles
26:01from the Michigan State
26:02University campus.
26:04And her body
26:05appeared to be positioned,
26:08so it was as if
26:10she had been standing up
26:11and she'd fallen back
26:12because her feet
26:13were tucked underneath her,
26:15and also her hands
26:16had been severed,
26:17and they were laying
26:18at her sides.
26:20Detectives interrogated
26:21Miller about another woman,
26:2321-year-old Wendy Bush,
26:25who disappeared
26:26on the same day
26:27that Marita's body
26:28had been discovered,
26:29the 27th of June, 1978.
26:33The following day,
26:35Wendy was supposed
26:36to show up for work
26:37at one of the cafes
26:39on campus,
26:40and when she didn't show up,
26:42her supervisor
26:43became concerned,
26:45and they checked her dorm
26:47and discovered
26:48that all of her belongings
26:49were there,
26:50and so she was reported
26:52as a missing person.
26:54Wendy Bush, it was said,
26:55was last seen
26:56with a tall, white man
26:58on campus.
27:00Well, Miller wasn't
27:02a very tall man,
27:03so there was really
27:04nothing to connect him
27:06with the disappearance
27:07of Wendy Bush either.
27:08It was a mystery.
27:11Miller denied knowing
27:12anything about Wendy Bush,
27:14but detectives were certain
27:16he was responsible
27:17for the disappearance
27:18of another woman,
27:1930-year-old Christine Stewart.
27:22Christine had disappeared
27:24on the 14th of August,
27:25just two days before Miller
27:27had attacked the Gilberts.
27:29Christine Stewart
27:31was a teacher
27:32at Lansing's Everett High School.
27:34She was adored
27:36by her students.
27:38She was a very well-known,
27:40very well-liked teacher.
27:42She was married
27:43to a contractor,
27:45and they lived
27:46in the East Lansing area.
27:47She and her husband
27:49got along very well.
27:51She would not disappear
27:53for any reason at all,
27:56so it was unlike
27:57Chris Stewart
27:58to just vanish.
28:01Investigators had been
28:02searching for Christine
28:04for the past two days.
28:06We secured
28:07every police officer
28:08available
28:09in the area
28:10of East Lansing.
28:12We used the helicopter
28:13to try to see
28:15if there was a body
28:16or anything we could see.
28:18We had bike patrols.
28:20We had all the cars
28:21that were out.
28:22We did everything
28:24we could possibly
28:25to see if she was
28:27just missing in the area,
28:28and we did not locate her.
28:31Fortunately for detectives,
28:33a witness had seen
28:34Christine's abduction
28:36firsthand
28:36and gave a statement
28:38to the police.
28:39She would later
28:40pick out Miller's photo
28:41in an identity parade.
28:43There was a woman
28:44who was traveling
28:46north on Coolidge,
28:48and a car turned
28:51in front of her,
28:51and she saw a man
28:53that was wrestling,
28:54basically,
28:55with a woman
28:55trying to force her
28:56into a vehicle,
28:57and she saw the man
29:01thrust a knife
29:02three times down
29:04into the car,
29:04and she was able
29:06to describe blood
29:07dripping off of the knife
29:09as Don Miller
29:10stabbed Christine Stewart.
29:12At that point,
29:14you would have thought
29:15had Donald Miller
29:16been as clever
29:17as he thought he was,
29:20he would have stopped.
29:21He would have simply said,
29:23well, there's nothing
29:24to connect me
29:25with any of these
29:26disappearances.
29:27There's nothing to connect me
29:28with the one body
29:29they've got.
29:30I won't do anything.
29:32But he didn't.
29:37Just two days
29:38after Miller
29:39had been seen
29:40stabbing Christine,
29:41he'd attacked
29:42Lisa and Randy Gilbert.
29:44He was now in custody,
29:45but refusing to admit
29:47to any of the attacks.
29:49Nonetheless,
29:50a grand jury
29:51was impaneled,
29:52and Miller was charged
29:53with the crimes
29:54that detectives
29:55could link him to.
29:56That grand jury
29:58indicted Don Miller
29:59in two of the disappearances.
30:03One for the disappearance
30:05of Martha Sue Young
30:07and the disappearance
30:08of Christine Stewart.
30:09And he was indicted
30:11for second-degree murder
30:12in those cases.
30:14The prosecuting attorney's office
30:16felt they could prove
30:17second-degree murder.
30:18There's no way
30:19without a body
30:20they could prove
30:21premeditation.
30:22And so he was indicted
30:24for two of the disappearances
30:26and eventually charged
30:29in those murders.
30:30Miller would first
30:32stand trial
30:32for the horrific attack
30:34on the Gilberts.
30:35The two children
30:36that he had left
30:37callously for dead
30:38would have to look
30:39into the eyes
30:40of the killer
30:40one last time.
30:51In May 1979,
30:53Don Miller was on trial
30:55in Berrien County, Michigan.
30:57The 24-year-old
30:58was charged
30:59with the rape
30:59and attempted murder
31:00of Lisa Gilbert
31:01and the attempted murder
31:03of her brother Randy.
31:04Miller was a devout Christian,
31:06but his story
31:07was far from holy.
31:10During his trial,
31:12Don Miller claimed
31:13that he only went
31:15into the Gilbert home
31:16to rid the home
31:19of demons.
31:21He used a demon defense,
31:23not that he was possessed,
31:25but that there was
31:26some sort of an occult
31:27inside the home
31:28and that he went in
31:29to rescue the people
31:30in there.
31:33Lisa and Randy
31:34both testified
31:35in the courtroom
31:36and had to face
31:37their attacker
31:38for the first time
31:39since their ordeal.
31:41I remember
31:42looking at him
31:43and they had him,
31:44he was wearing a suit.
31:46I remember thinking
31:47as an angry teenage boy
31:49is,
31:50why does he get
31:50to wear a suit?
31:51Why is he not
31:52in jail clothes?
31:53Well, you know,
31:54I had to see him, though.
31:55I had to,
31:56I had to testify
31:57that he was the one.
32:00And I clearly knew
32:01he was.
32:02And it was,
32:03it was really difficult
32:03for my sister as well.
32:05I was scared.
32:07I was nervous
32:08knowing that I was
32:09in the same room as him
32:10and that I was facing him.
32:12A lot of things
32:13were kept hush-hush,
32:16you know,
32:17because we were,
32:17we were young.
32:18They didn't want to hurt us
32:20any more than what
32:20we were already
32:21going through.
32:23On the 9th of May,
32:251979,
32:27Don Miller was found guilty
32:28on all three rape
32:30and attempted murder charges.
32:31He was sentenced
32:32to 30 to 50 years
32:34in prison.
32:35He was due in court
32:36again soon after
32:38to answer second-degree
32:39murder charges
32:40for his part
32:41in the disappearance
32:42of his former fiancée,
32:44Martha Sue Young,
32:45and 30-year-old teacher,
32:47Christine Stewart.
32:48But while he was
32:49behind bars,
32:50he suddenly appeared
32:51willing to talk
32:52about the other crimes
32:54he'd committed.
32:55The prison warden
32:57noticed that
32:58he was very withdrawn
33:00and felt that
33:03possibly some
33:04regressive psychotherapy
33:05could be used
33:06or some hypnosis.
33:08And in those
33:09regressive psychotherapy
33:11interviews,
33:13Don Miller admitted
33:14to the murder
33:15of Martha Sue Young
33:17and the murder
33:20of Christine Stewart
33:21and the murder
33:23of Wendy Bush
33:24and the murder
33:25of Marita Chilquette.
33:27During a search
33:29of Miller's home,
33:30investigators had already
33:31uncovered some damning
33:33evidence in the Marita
33:34Chilquette case.
33:36In a drawer
33:37in his room,
33:40I found the handcuffs
33:42that obviously
33:43he had used
33:45to handcuff
33:46Marita Chilquette
33:48and he must not
33:49have had a key
33:50because that's why
33:51he severed
33:52the hands off.
33:53So we found
33:54the handcuffs
33:55in the drawer
33:56in his room.
33:57There were blood
33:58samples inside
34:00the handcuffs
34:01which were traced
34:02back to Marita Chilquette.
34:05It certainly isn't
34:07enough for Miller
34:07at this point
34:08to just kill
34:09his victim.
34:10His victim
34:11is his possession.
34:12He owns her
34:13and he's going
34:14to do what
34:15he wants to her
34:16and by severing
34:17her hands,
34:18by leaving her
34:19in this stage,
34:21he's essentially
34:21dehumanizing her.
34:23He's completely
34:24possessing
34:24and controlling
34:25her.
34:26But Don Miller
34:27would never
34:27face a trial
34:28for murder
34:29in a bid
34:30to find closure
34:31for the families
34:31of his victims
34:32and as he was
34:34already facing
34:3550 years in prison,
34:36he was offered
34:37a deal
34:37by prosecutors.
34:39Don Miller
34:40accepted a plea deal
34:41with the prosecuting
34:42attorney's office
34:44and in that plea deal
34:46he was allowed
34:48to plead
34:49to two counts
34:50of manslaughter
34:51and the original
34:53two counts
34:54of second degree
34:55murder would be
34:56dropped.
34:57But in exchange
34:58for that plea,
35:00within a week
35:02he would have
35:03to lead authorities
35:04to the bodies
35:05of the remaining
35:07missing three victims,
35:09Martha Sue Young,
35:10Wendy Bush
35:11and Christine Stewart.
35:14In July 1979,
35:17Miller led detectives
35:18to the remains
35:19of each of the women
35:20he'd killed,
35:21one after the other,
35:23beginning with his
35:23former fiancée
35:24and first victim,
35:26Martha Sue Young.
35:27Martha Sue Young's body
35:29was found
35:30at a park
35:32in Bath Township
35:33northeast of Lansing,
35:35a park called
35:35Pregoris Park.
35:37It had been
35:4018 months
35:41or more
35:42since she had
35:43come up missing
35:44and it was
35:46basically a skeleton
35:47when she was
35:48discovered.
35:52Wendy Bush's body
35:53was the next
35:54to be found.
35:55Miller told detectives
35:56he'd once gone
35:57canoeing
35:58with the 21-year-old.
35:59He choked her
36:00to death
36:01in a parking lot
36:02at Michigan State University.
36:04And then we went
36:06and found
36:07Chris Stewart's remains
36:09in a ditch
36:11in a farm field
36:12and he pointed
36:14them out.
36:15He didn't even
36:15get out of the car.
36:16He just said
36:17her remains
36:18are right over there.
36:19And I was walking
36:21with one of the prosecutors
36:22at the time
36:23and actually discovered
36:25the remains
36:27at our feet
36:28in a little
36:29water dish.
36:31So she had been there
36:33for quite a few
36:35days
36:36until we found her.
36:38Miller said
36:39he'd run down
36:40Christine Stewart
36:41in his car
36:42before strangling
36:43her to death
36:44because he was
36:45convinced she was
36:45Martha Sue Young.
36:47Christine was Miller's
36:48fourth and final victim.
36:51Because of the plea deal,
36:52Don Miller,
36:53who was already
36:54serving 30 to 50 years
36:56for the attack
36:57on the Gilberts,
36:58was sentenced
36:58to 10 additional years
37:00for the manslaughter
37:01of Martha and Christine.
37:05He's killed
37:06four young women,
37:08dumped their bodies,
37:10done dreadful things,
37:12and yet he gets
37:1310 years.
37:14Oh, I suppose
37:15everyone was thinking,
37:16well, he's already
37:16serving 30 to 50 years.
37:18Well, it's not
37:19another 10 at the end,
37:20it's 10 concurrently.
37:22So he's still only
37:23going to serve
37:24exactly the same
37:24as he did
37:25for the rape
37:26and attempted murder
37:27of Lisa and Randy.
37:29Don Miller
37:30could have been
37:31released by now,
37:32but in 1994,
37:34he was given
37:35another 20 to 40 years
37:36on his sentence
37:37because a homemade weapon
37:39was found in his cell.
37:41I think it's important
37:42for the public
37:43to understand
37:44that Don Miller
37:45is not in prison right now
37:46for murder
37:48or for rape
37:50or for attempted murder.
37:52Don Miller
37:52is only still in prison
37:54for possessing
37:55a strangulation device
37:56or garot
37:57in his prison dorm.
37:59This is clearly
38:00something that
38:01is significant
38:02in terms of
38:02the murders
38:03that he committed
38:04because had he
38:05addressed all of
38:06those underlying factors
38:07which led to his offending,
38:09he would have no need
38:09to have that kind of thing
38:11in his cell.
38:12So the fact
38:13that it was there
38:13suggests to me
38:15he's reliving
38:16these attacks,
38:17he's revisiting them,
38:18he's enjoying that.
38:20So obviously
38:21that's telling you
38:22right then and there
38:24that he's not rehabilitated.
38:26He's thinking
38:27about doing it again
38:28and he's still thinking
38:30about doing it again
38:31if they allow him
38:32to get out.
38:33Miller's been up
38:34for parole
38:34several times
38:35since his incarceration.
38:37Leading the fight
38:38to keep him behind bars
38:40is Eaton County
38:41prosecutor
38:42Doug Lloyd.
38:43The minute
38:43we receive notice
38:44that that individual
38:46is up for parole
38:47it's a process.
38:49My office
38:50begins the process
38:51of preparing letters
38:52to send to the parole board.
38:54We begin gathering
38:55individuals
38:56who will send letters
38:58and who will contact
38:59the parole board
39:00to let them know
39:01that this individual
39:02should not be released.
39:04I've already written
39:06a letter
39:06to the Michigan parole board.
39:09This is something
39:10that never leaves you
39:11as an investigator.
39:13This person killed
39:15four people,
39:17attempted to kill
39:19two more people,
39:20a 14-year-old
39:22and a 13-year-old.
39:23I know him better
39:24than anybody
39:25and I'm afraid
39:27if Don Miller
39:28is released
39:29he will kill again.
39:33Despite his crimes,
39:35reports from prison
39:36suggest that Miller
39:37is ready to be
39:38reintegrated
39:39into society.
39:41Don Miller
39:42is a sociopath.
39:44In reality,
39:47he plays the part
39:48that he knows
39:49he must play
39:50within prison
39:51and because of that
39:53he places himself
39:55in the ability
39:56to be viewed
39:57for parole
39:58every year
39:59which is why
40:00it's so important
40:01to the victims
40:03that the parole board
40:04have that ability
40:05to say
40:06you won't be reviewed
40:07for five years
40:09because he's
40:10a serial killer.
40:11That's what he was
40:12when he was out
40:13on the streets.
40:14That's what he is
40:15in prison.
40:17To me,
40:18the word serial killer
40:19and parole
40:20should not even be
40:21in the same paragraph
40:21or the same sentence
40:23for that matter.
40:24So we sit here today
40:27probably just as scared
40:29as I was back then
40:31that this monster
40:32could be walking
40:33the streets
40:35right now,
40:36soon.
40:39In June 2021,
40:41Miller's latest bid
40:42for freedom failed.
40:44Michigan state law
40:46dictates
40:46that the 66-year-old
40:48can apply for parole
40:49every 12 months
40:51making it a constant battle
40:53for Doug
40:53and the Gilberts.
40:55You know what amazes me
40:56is the fact
40:57that they both
40:58get up every day
40:59and they go about
41:01their lives
41:01and they both
41:02become productive members
41:04in our community
41:04because they have
41:06every right
41:07to not want to be
41:09because they've been
41:11imprisoned
41:11by a serial killer
41:14since that day
41:15in 1978.
41:18We have to do this
41:19every year
41:20for the next nine years.
41:22In the year 2031,
41:24he's able
41:26to walk out of jail.
41:28His sentence is
41:30over.
41:32and
41:34that's really tough
41:35to deal with
41:36right now.
41:38Miller committed
41:40his crimes
41:40in his early 20s
41:42and has spent
41:42the majority
41:43of his life
41:44behind bars.
41:45But Lisa
41:46and Randy
41:47have also suffered
41:48a lifetime
41:49of pain
41:50caused by
41:50their horrendous
41:51ordeal
41:52in August 1978.
41:54I have
41:55physical scars
41:56on my body
41:57that I see
41:58every day
41:59that are reminders.
42:01I have nightmares
42:02constantly.
42:03I don't sleep well
42:05without getting
42:07too emotional.
42:08It's very difficult
42:09for me
42:10to this day
42:11to really think
42:13hard,
42:14talk about
42:15what happened
42:16to her.
42:17If I wasn't
42:18off goofing off,
42:21it may not
42:22have happened.
42:23It probably
42:24wouldn't have happened.
42:26or if I was
42:26home,
42:28Don Miller
42:29would have
42:30seen both of us
42:31and not just
42:32my sister
42:34and he would
42:34have kept
42:35on going.
42:36So I feel
42:37that, you know,
42:38this is kind
42:39of my fault.
42:42So I have
42:43to protect her.
42:49I don't think
42:49I could ever
42:50speak to him
42:50face to face.
42:53But if I could
42:54write to him,
42:55I'd write to him
42:56and tell him,
42:56may you rot in hell.
42:59He has no remorse.
43:01He is not
43:03forgiving.
43:04You can just see
43:05how he escalated
43:06and how he was
43:08going to kill
43:09a 14-year-old
43:10and a 13-year-old
43:12and how he had
43:13already killed
43:13his girlfriend
43:14at the time
43:15and three other
43:16ladies.
43:17He is a danger.
43:19He is a threat
43:21and he does
43:23not need
43:23to be released.
43:25We may never
43:26know why
43:27Don Miller
43:28chose to end
43:29the life
43:29of four women.
43:30He's never
43:31given an explanation
43:32for it.
43:33What we do know
43:34is he left
43:35behind four
43:36grieving families
43:37and ruined
43:38the lives
43:38of two children
43:39who are still
43:40affected by his
43:41murderous attack
43:42to this day.
43:44The fact that
43:45a supposed
43:46staunch Christian
43:47can stoop
43:48to such depravity
43:49makes Don Miller
43:51one of the world's
43:52most evil killers.
43:54most evil killers.