A man accused of killing three women in Utah and stealing their cars and credit cards was already known to police in Iowa: He was arrested there on suspicion of breaking into a cabin about two months prior, court documents show.
Officials released Ivan Miller, 22, without bail back in January on the charges in Iowa, and he vowed to appear for the next court appearance.
But Miller missed the arraignment Friday because he was in jail in southern Colorado after authorities tracked him there in one of the stolen vehicles.
A public defender representing Miller in the Colorado case, Scott Van Zandt, said Friday during a court hearing that his client does not want to speak to police or media.
Meanwhile, out in southern Utah’s starkly beautiful desert country, friends and relatives of the women killed struggled to comprehend what authorities called a crime of “convenience.”
Miller told investigators he stole the cars and credit cards because he needed to get back to Iowa, according to interviews outlined in court documents.
Two bodies at a trailhead, then a third at a home
The husbands of two victims found their wives dead Wednesday near a trailhead after they didn’t return from a desert hike. The body of the third victim — a church-going woman who loved yardwork and kept a tidy yard — was found near her home.
There was no sign that Miller had any connection to the three, said Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol.
Miller had been on the move often in recent days if not months. A few days before the killings, Miller hit an elk in the town of Loa.
Source: WPLG
