Ivan Miller, an Iowa man charged with murder in Utah, wanted the victims’ cars and money to get home, prosecutors said.
Two men whose wives did not return from a hike in the south-central Utah desert crashed into a railroad track Wednesday and found both women dead and the car missing, prompting investigators to search for a third body before arresting a suspect Thursday in Colorado.
An Iowa man has been charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of two hikers and a third woman who authorities say was eavesdropping on her home after spending the night in a shed on her property. There is no indication that this man was connected to the victims, said Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Ivan Miller, 22, told investigators after his arrest that he killed three women to steal their cars and credit cards because he needed money to return to Iowa, charging documents said.
He had hit an elk a few days earlier in a small Utah town near Capitol Reef National Park and had no car after selling his truck to a towing company.
After staying in hotels for several days, Miller slept in the woman’s shed. He stole her Buick after shooting it in the back while he was watching television, Wayne County prosecutors said.
Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa, told authorities he quickly realized he didn’t like the Buick and wanted another car, according to court documents.
He stopped in a driveway about 10 miles from the first victim’s home, saw two women get out of the Subaru and killed them before taking the car, documents said. He tried to hide their bodies in a dry riverbed, prosecutors said.
The husbands called 911 and flagged down a patrol after finding their wives shot and stabbed on the trail, which is heavily used by locals and is protected by piñon and juniper trees along the road, according to officials and court documents.
Officials identified the hikers as aunt and niece Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, 34, and the woman who was killed in her home as Margaret Oldroyd, 86.
Victim remembered as ‘very sweet woman’
Authorities found Oldroyd’s body in the basement of a shed on his property after identifying the owner of a stolen Buick left in the driveway, according to court documents.
Police used yellow tape to cordon off a brick home in Lyman and an outbuilding while investigators gathered evidence Thursday.
Oldroyd’s next-door neighbor of 20 years, Randy Jones, described her as “the sweetest woman he’s ever met” and said he was shocked by her death.
Oldroyd loved yard work, always keeping his flowers and lawn watered and neatly trimmed. He worked at a local grocery store, Jones said. And when Jones helped get the skunks out of her yard, she brought him a cake as a thank you.
“Out here in the rural areas, we all take care of each other,” said Jones.
In recent years, he hardly saw his neighbor leave home except to go to religious services and to pick up groceries. But every now and then, he would come over to Jones’s house, sit with him and visit his horses.
The suspect was traced to all states
Investigators have yet to find a motive for the killings and do not believe the suspect targeted the women for any reason other than to “mention,” Roden said. Investigators are still looking into when Miller arrived in Utah and what he was doing before the murder.
Authorities used license plate numbers and vehicle tracking services to follow Miller’s path, from Utah through northern Arizona and to the mountain town of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado, where he abandoned the stolen vehicle, Roden said. Found after a short search.
According to online jail records, Miller was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. He was arrested in Colorado in possession of a large knife and a .45 caliber handgun, according to court documents, and was scheduled to make his first state court appearance Friday afternoon.
Miller is being represented at the hearing by the Colorado Public Defender’s office, said Justin Bogan, who heads the office in the judicial district that includes Pagosa Springs. Bogan declined to comment further. Voicemail messages left for a list of possible relatives of Miller were not immediately returned Thursday.
Authorities were working to bring Miller to Utah to face murder charges.
The Associated Press left a message with the Utah public defender’s office Thursday afternoon.
Before the suspect was taken into custody, Wayne County residents were asked to remain vigilant and schools were closed on Thursday. Officials asked for help locating the white Subaru Outback but warned people not to approach it.
