The attorney representing the man charged with the brutal murder of three women in Utah this week has declared that his client intends to contest the allegations vigorously. “He will be fighting this every step of the way,” the lawyer stated.
The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Ivan Miller, is accused of randomly taking the lives of Margaret Oldroyd, 86, Linda Dewey, 65, and her niece, Natalie Graves, 34. The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday near Capitol Reef National Park, situated approximately three hours from Salt Lake City.
Miller, hailing from Blakesburg, Iowa, was apprehended the day after the killings in Colorado. Legal documents reveal that he confessed to the murders, claiming they “had to be done.”
Authorities reported that Miller allegedly shot the women with the intent to rob them of their vehicles and money. His plan was to return to Iowa, where he faced impending court proceedings for burglary charges.
On Friday, the accused appeared for his initial court hearing in Pagosa Springs. Dressed in a yellow jumpsuit and shackles, Miller stood silently, responding only to affirm his identity when prompted by Archuleta County Judge Anthony Edwards.
He wore a yellow jumpsuit and shackles with his hands in front of him, speaking only when prompted by Archuleta County Judge Anthony Edwards to say his name.
His attorney, Colorado public defender Scott Van Zandt, said Miller would resist efforts to be moved to Utah.
‘We will not be waiving extradition here and we will be fighting this every step of the way,’ Van Zandt said.
Miller was charged with three counts of aggravated murder in Utah for allegedly killing the three women
Miller’s first alleged victim in the murder spree that he is accused of committing was Margaret Oldroyd, 86. She was killed in her Lyman home
Van Zandt also told the judge that Miller ‘does not wish to speak to law enforcement or to the press.’
However, Wayne County prosecutors in Utah have claimed that Miller already discussed the alleged murders and his supposed motive in extended detail.
Miller allegedly told investigators that he was stranded in Utah after crashing his tow truck into an elk and selling his damaged vehicle to a tow company.
He stayed in hotels for a few days before sleeping in a shed on Oldroyd’s Lyman home.
Charging documents said Miller shot the elderly woman in the back of the head as she watched television.
The accused killer took Oldroyd’s Buick but decided he ‘did not like the car’ and started looking for a different one, the court documents said.
Oldroyd’s next-door neighbor, Randy Jones, said he was shocked by her death.
He described her as ‘the sweetest woman you’d ever meet,’ according to the Associated Press.
Miller appeared in court in a yellow jumpsuit and only spoke for a few moments to tell the judge his full name
After stealing the elderly woman’s car, Miller allegedly went after two female hikers to take their Subaru. Prosecutors claimed he fatally shot and stabbed Natalie Graves, 34
Miller claimed to have crashed his Chevy Silverado into an elk. The pickup truck was so wrecked that Miller sold it to a tow truck firm
Authorities said Miller then spotted Dewey and Graves at a trailhead outside Capitol Reef National Park as they got out of a white Subaru.
Miller approached the pair and allegedly shot Graves in the chest.
He then allegedly shot Dewey twice and ‘stabbed her multiple times in the heart’ after she kept moving, prosecutors claimed.
Court documents said that Miller stole their car, took their credit cards and used the older hiker’s card to buy gas.
The women’s husbands alerted law enforcement when they went to search for them after they failed to return home.
Dewey and Graves’ spouses said they were ‘dealing with the shock of the devastating loss of two members of our family who were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on earth.’
Their statement added: ‘They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened.’
Graves was accompanied by her aunt Linda Dewey, 65. Miller allegedly killed her and then used her credit card for gas money
Dewey and Graves’s families said that they ‘were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on earth’ at the time of their deaths
Their family added that the two female hikers were ‘murdered’ and that they ‘cannot comprehend why this happened’
Miller was arrested after license plate readers and vehicle tracking services traced him from Utah through northern Arizona and into Pagosa Springs.
He had abandoned his stolen car there and was found with a knife and a .45 caliber pistol.
Colorado officials have charged him with aggravated motor vehicle theft and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon.
However, his more serious charges are in Utah – where he faces three counts of aggravated murder.
Miller’s cash bond was set at $20,000 by Judge Edwards during Friday’s hearing.
Prosecutors argued that he was an extreme risk of danger to the public and a flight risk.
But even if Miller posts bond, he would remain in custody because of the Utah charges.
Oldroyd’s Lyman home has been cordoned off by police as they gathered evidence about Miller’s alleged murder spree
The killings happened near Capitol Reef National Park, about three hours south of Salt Lake City
Before the killing spree, Miller had been scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun.
The case stemmed from a December incident in which Miller was found inside a cabin at Lake Wapello State Park in Davis County, Iowa.
He allegedly had a fully loaded bolt-action rifle and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with him.
Miller told the park ranger who discovered him that he had picked the cabin’s lock a few days earlier to be somewhere warm.
He was released without bail on a promise to appear on the charges, according to a January 13 court order.
Miller is next scheduled to appear in court April 10 in connection with the Utah charges. He will be back again May 14 for the Colorado case.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Van Zandt and Wayne County District Attorney Michael Winn, who is prosecuting Miller in Utah, for further comment.
