The man charged with the murders of three women in Utah could face the death penalty.
Wayne County Attorney Michael Winn told the Scripps New Group that he intends to file a notice to seek the death penalty. Utah law says such notices must be filed within 60 days after a defendant’s arraignment.
The defendant, Ivan W. Miller, has not yet had that arraignment. Friday, he remained in the Archuleta County, Colorado, jail awaiting extradition to Utah.
Miller appeared in a courtroom in Colorado on Friday.
“We will not be waiving extradition here,” Miller’s attorney, Scott Van Zandt, told the judge, “and we will be fighting this every step of the way.”
The judge ordered Miller to remain in jail until the extradition request is resolved. Generally, to successfully fight extradition, a defendant must prove he is not the person named in the warrant, or that there is some other error.
Charging documents accuse Miller of murdering Margaret Oldroyd, 86, at her home in Lyman and stealing her Buick Regal. Then, the charging documents allege, Miller decided to steal a different car and murdered 65-year-old Linda Dewey and her 34-year-old niece Natalie Graves near a trailhead to take a Subaru Outback belonging to one of the women.
Law enforcement tracked the Outback to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Police there arrested Miller.
According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, Miller, who is from Blakesburg, Iowa, had no previous relationships with the victims, and he had only been in the area after hitting an elk with his truck.
Winn said the Utah Attorney General’s Office had offered assistance in prosecuting the case. That could be a welcome relief for Wayne County, which has a population of about 2,600.
Watch Ivan Miller's full court appearance in video below:
Winn’s budget this year is $91,850. Most of that is for his own salary and benefits. The county budget lists no staff for Winn.
“We'll definitely need to have some help from the state,” said Wayne County Commissioner Roger Brian.
Brian said that could mean asking the Utah Legislature for money to help with the case.
“I bet this has probably been more homicides in our county in this one day than we have had for probably 100 years,” Brian said.
'We are one community,' Wayne County residents honor, mourn those killed:
Wayne County may not need help paying for Miller’s defense. That’s because the county belongs to an indigent defense fund that includes representing people charged with aggravated murder.
Miller was supposed to be arraigned Friday in Davis County, Iowa, on a pending burglary charge. Instead, the judge in Iowa revoked his bond and issued an arrest warrant.
