Man who killed 3 Utah women said ‘it had to be done’: police – National

Authorities in Utah have identified a man taken into custody on suspicion of killing three women, and he has been formally charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder.

Ivan Miller, an Iowa man, has been charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of the two hikers and a third woman authorities say he killed inside her home after he spent a night in a shed on her property.

Miller, 22, was identified by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in a post on Facebook on March 5. The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that Miller was captured early Thursday morning and is in law enforcement custody.

There is no indication that Miller had any connection to the victims, said Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

What happened?

Two men whose wives did not return from a hike in Utah’s south-central desert arrived at the trailhead Wednesday to find both women dead and a car missing, spurring a multi-state search that led investigators to a third body before they arrested Miller Thursday in Colorado.

The husbands called 911 and waved down a ranger after finding their wives shot and stabbed at the trail, according to officials and court documents, obtained and viewed by The Associated Press.

Officers also found blood leading from the road to where the bodies were located and tracks that suggested the victims were going uphill, and a set of unidentified tracks.

The Utah Department of Public Safety identified identified the hikers as aunt and niece Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, 34.

Officers found a Buick Regal vehicle left under a tree in the area. According to court documents, police conducted a welfare check at the address registered to the Buick, in Lyman, Utah.

Authorities found a woman’s body in a cellar under a shed on her property after identifying the owner of the stolen Buick left at the trailhead, according to court documents.

The Utah Department of Public Safety identified the woman killed in her home as Margaret Oldroyd, 86.

When police arrived to Oldroyd’s home, they found blood in the front room and drag marks leading out of the house to the shed.

Investigators believe that Miller killed Oldroyd first at her home and stole her vehicle before allegedly ditching her car near a trailhead, then stealing the two hikers’ Subaru Outback after Oldroyd’s murder. The hikers had no known connection to Oldroyd.

Before a suspect was in custody, Wayne County residents were asked to remain vigilant and schools were closed Thursday. Officials asked for help finding a white Subaru Outback but warned people not to approach it and stay inside with locked doors and lights on.

Sevier County Sheriff’s Office posted to social media, letting the public know that they were looking for a white Subaru Outback, which was later located after it was abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

The suspect fled on foot and was later located and detained by Pagosa Springs Police Department (PSPD), where he was taken into custody.

“At approximately 2:41 am PSPD Assistant Chief Brown located a subject matching the suspect description. Asst. Chief Brown detained the suspect later identified as 23-year-old Ivan Miller,” a post from PSPD read. “Upon a frisk of Miller, he was found in possession of a concealed handgun and large knife.”

“Miller was arrested for possession of concealed weapons. A subsequent interview linked Miller to the deaths in Utah,” the post continued. “Miller was transported to the Archuleta County detention center where he is being held on the weapons charges and for Utah authorities.”

What has the suspect said?

Miller told investigators after his arrest that he killed the three women to steal their cars and credit cards because he “needed money” to get back to Iowa, charging documents show.

He claimed that he had hit an elk a few days earlier in a tiny Utah farming town near Capitol Reef National Park and was without a vehicle after selling his truck to the tow company.

Miller said that he stayed at a hotel for a few days before sleeping in the woman’s shed. He stole her Buick after shooting her from behind while she was watching TV, Wayne County prosecutors allege.

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He told law enforcement that he cleaned up the crime scene “the best he could” before taking the car.

The suspect told authorities that he realized he did not like the Buick and wanted a different vehicle, according to court documents. He parked it at a trailhead about six kilometres from the first victim’s home, saw two women get out of a Subaru and killed them before taking the car, the documents state.

Miller attempted to conceal their bodies in a dry creek bed and placed them side by side, prosecutors allege.

While there is still no official motive for the murders of the three women, Miller confessed to police “that it had to be done, but he did not like to do it.”

Miller said he was getting gas in Pagosa Springs when he spotted a police officer and abandoned the vehicle he was driving. After leaving on foot, he thought he could say in the area to “see if he could get his car back,” but then he was taken into custody.

In a phone interview with Miller’s brother, he told the New York Times that Miller left Iowa about two and a half weeks ago and took his truck on a solo cross-country road trip.

The brother, who spoke on the condition that he would not be identified by name, claimed that Miller had “serious mental health issues” but he had no idea his brother “could be suspected of something like this.”

He said that he stayed in touch with Miller while he was on his road trip and mentioned how Miller had wrecked his truck after hitting an elk.

The brother offered to bring Miller back to Iowa, but he said that Miller declined his offer.

He also shared that he and Miller had grown up Amish and that their parents were still members of the Amish community. He described his brother as a “habitual liar” with “outlandish thoughts” and shared that Miller had turned down mental health treatment in the past.

Suspect tracked across state lines

Investigators do not know the motive for the killings and do not believe the suspect targeted the women for any reason other than “convenience,” Roden said. Investigators were still looking into when Miller arrived in Utah and what he was doing prior to the killings.

Using licence plate readers and vehicle tracking services, authorities were able to follow Miller’s path, from Utah through northern Arizona and into the mountain town of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado, where he abandoned the stolen vehicle, Roden said. He was found after a short search.

Online jail records show that Miller was being held on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and motor vehicle theft. He was arrested in Colorado with a large knife and a .45 caliber pistol, according to court documents, and was scheduled to make his first court appearance in the state Friday afternoon.

Miller is currently being represented by the Colorado Public Defender’s Office, said Justin Bogan, who heads the office in the judicial district that covers Pagosa Springs.

He has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. According to Utah state law, an individual convicted of aggravated murder could face the death penalty.

An investigation into the triple homicide is ongoing.

— With files from The Associated Press