The red-rock landscapes around Capitol Reef National Park in Utah are known for peaceful hiking trails and quiet rural communities. But this week, that calm was shattered when a man from Iowa allegedly carried out a series of killings across Wayne County – leaving three women dead – all for the sake of stolen cars and credit cards.
Authorities say a 22-year-old man went on a deadly rampage across the community, ambushing an elderly woman inside her home before murdering two other women who were hiking the Cockscomb Trail just off state Route 12 nearby.
Hours later, police say the suspect had fled across state lines in a stolen vehicle, triggering a multi-state manhunt that ended with his arrest in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa, who has no known previous connection to the victims, was taken into custody early Thursday in Colorado, and charged with three counts of aggravated murder.
Miller later told investigators that he had “killed someone and stole a car,” according to charging documents filed Thursday and obtained by KSL.
The names of the three women have not yet been released. Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden said they are from “the area” but are not related to each other.
A shocking killing spree
Investigators believe the deadly rampage began at a home in the small Wayne County community of Lyman where a woman who was in her 80s was found dead inside, and her vehicle had been stolen.
Miller later told investigators “that he had hit an elk in Loa, Utah a few days ago, sold his truck to a tow company, and stayed in an area hotel for a few days.”
In search of money and a car to get back to Iowa, Miller allegedly said that he had stayed the night in shed at the elderly woman’s home and saw her leaving in her Buick Lesabre. He waited for her to return, hiding behind a door, and “shot her in the back of the head with the 1911 (pistol) while she was sitting down watching television,” according to the charging documents.
Miller allegedly said he “dragged her to the out building and further down into the basement where he ultimately left her” and that he tried to clean up the scene. He then “grabbed his stuff and took the car, but he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle.”
After that killing, Miller allegedly drove about 15 miles to a trailhead off State Route 12 between Torrey and Teasdale – an area popular with hikers visiting nearby Capitol Reef National Park.
He parked the vehicle near the trailhead where he saw a younger woman and an older woman get out of a white Subaru,” court documents state.
There, police say he killed two women who were hiking together. One victim was in her 30s and the other in her 60s.
“Miller said that he went up to them and shot the younger one in what he thought was the chest and she went down. Miller then shot the other one twice in the body but that she was still moving. Miller then stabbed her multiple times in the heart,” according to the court documents.
“Miller admitted he dragged both alleged victims at (the trailhead) to a ditch and laid them next to one another. He said he did it because he needed money. Miller said that he took their credit cards and used the older woman’s card to buy gas. Miller said that his intent was to get back to Iowa,” according to the charges.
“Miller confessed that it ‘had to be done’ but he did not like to do it.”
The victims’ husbands discovered their bodies Wednesday afternoon after the women failed to return home and called 911 around 4:30 p.m., authorities said.
During the investigation, officers found the elderly woman’s stolen vehicle nearby and traced it back to her home, where her body was discovered. Her body was found “in a cellar located under a shed on the property,” according to deputies who said it “appeared the female was moved using a wheelbarrow.”
Investigators believe Miller then took the a vehicle belonging to one of the hikers and fled the area.
Manhunt across three states
Law enforcement quickly launched a search for a white Subaru Outback believed to have been stolen from one of the victims at the trail.
They tracked the vehicle through southern Utah and into northern Arizona using technology including license plate readers and integrated tracking services. The car was eventually located late Wednesday night in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Officers there were alerted around 11:10 p.m. that the vehicle connected to the Utah killings had entered their area, according to Pagosa Springs police.
“A Pagosa Springs police officer found the vehicle within the city limits. The vehicle was then abandoned in Centennial Park in the downtown area,” the department said in a statement.
Authorities used license plate readers and vehicle tracking services to follow the suspect’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.
After a brief search of the area, officers located Miller around 2:40 a.m.
“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,” police said.
He was taken into custody without incident and is currently being held at the Archuleta County Detention Center where he was charged hours later.
Who is suspect Ivan Miller?
Authorities say Ivan Miller is from Blakesburg, Iowa, a small town in Wapello County.
After his arrest, the 22-year-old allegedly told the FBI he had hit an elk in Utah days earlier and sold his truck to a tow company before deciding he needed a new vehicle. That’s when he reportedly spent the night in the back shed of the woman’s home in Lyman and waited for the right moment.
There is no indication that Miller had any connection to the victims, Roden said. Investigators were still looking into when he arrived in Utah and what he was doing prior to the killings, Roden said.
Records show he has a pending felony burglary and theft case in Davis County, Iowa, as well as misdemeanor charges including theft, possession of marijuana and unlawful weapons possession.
Miller is being represented by the Colorado Public Defender’s office, said Justin Bogan, who heads the office in the judicial district that covers Pagosa Springs, the Associated Press reported.
Roden told The Independent that investigators are still piecing together a timeline but do not know how Miller got to the area or how long he had been there.
Who are the victims?
The names of the three female victims have not yet been released while next of kin notifications are underway, Roden said.
Officials said the hikers were in their 30s and 60s, but it’s unclear if they were friends or related to each other. The other woman was said to be in her 80s and alone in her house at the time of the killing.
Online speculation suggested the two women who were hiking might have been related, possibly an aunt and niece, but Roden said investigators have not confirmed that.
The hikers had no connection to the other woman who lived in a home in Wayne County about 10 miles from the trail, officials said.
A community on edge
Until Miller was arrested, the community was on edge as law enforcement warned Wayne County residents to stay vigilant, lock doors and remain indoors if possible.
Schools across the county canceled classes Thursday and Friday “out of an abundance of caution.” The courthouse in Loa also closed for the day. By Thursday morning, after Miller’s arrest, officials said the threat to the public had ended.
“There are no ongoing threats to the public, and investigators have no outstanding suspects,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said.
Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright said the violence had shaken the small community of fewer than 3,000 residents.
“Our community is grieving today following the tragic deaths of three women in Wayne County yesterday,” Wright said. “On behalf of the Town of Torrey, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, close-knit community.”
“I want to acknowledge the professionalism and rapid response of law enforcement during yesterday’s multi-state search,” he added. “Their work brought clarity and safety back to our community during an extremely difficult and uncertain day.”
“Our community is strong. In the coming days, we will support one another, check on our neighbors, and ensure that those affected by this tragedy are not alone.”
Roden said this type of crime is unusual in the area which he described as several small rural communities close together.
“When something happens in one community, it’s felt all over,” he said. “It has affected all of us.”
