Man Murders Brother With Hammer

[bloodrayne]

Man Used Hammer To Kill Brother
Accused killer made first appearance

Vincennes — The man authorities allege killed his younger brother with a hammer made his first appearance in Knox County (Indiana) Superior Court today.

Knox County Prosecutor John Sievers said it’s “not likely” he’ll seek the death penalty against Randy Miller, 27, Vincennes, who is facing a murder charge in connection with the Nov. 29 death of his brother and next-door neighbor, 18-year-old Chad Miller.

Sievers also said Randy Miller did admit to hitting his brother with the hammer.

Miller’s body was found in the home he shared with the boy’s mother, Melanie Miller, about 10:30 p.m., EST, Nov. 29, after friends called police because Miller failed to meet them as planned.

In court this morning, Randy Miller, wearing a jail-issued black-and-white-striped jumpsuit and his wedding ring, preliminarily pleaded innocent to the murder charge. That plea will become official in 20 days, unless Miller and his attorneys, enter another plea.

Miller answered Judge Tim Crowley’s questions politely and asked for a court-appointed attorney to represent him. Crowley appointed Vincennes lawyers Brian Jewell and Chris Ramsey. The pair represented Jeremy Vennard, who was convicted of murdering his father and stepmother, in 2002.

Jewell and Ramsey declined comment after the hearing.

Randy Miller was arrested on charges of domestic battery last week at an Econo Lodge in Gallup, New Mexico. Authorities speculated he may have been on his way to visit family living in Bakersfield, Calif.

The domestic battery charge stemmed from a complaint his wife filed Nov. 28. He was also wanted as a suspect in the Nov. 28 break-in of Chad Miller’s house. Some medication and about $300 in cash was stolen, and officers found a suicide note, allegedly written by Randy Miller at the crime scene.

Randy Miller is married and has two children, a 3-year-old son who lives with him and his wife and a 2-year-old daughter who lives with her mother in Illinois. He testified the last job he held was three months ago at Lewis Bakery in Vincennes, but had worked for a day at the Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village during the week of Nov. 21. He lost his job after working there one day.

Sievers declined to speculate on a motive for the slaying, saying Chad Miller’s death was a “senseless thing” and was the “culmination of a lot of things going on in Randy’s life.”

Miller’s trial is set for May 10.

[horror_master]

MAybe he did it maybe he didn't do it. It's hard to tell.