Sharee Paulette Kitley Miller (born October 13, 1971) is an American woman convicted of plotting the murder of her husband, Bruce Miller, over the Internet with her online lover Jerry Cassaday, who later died by suicide.
Murder, trial and incarceration
Bruce Miller was found dead at his junkyard in Mt. Morris, Michigan on November 8, 1999, killed by a
20 gauge
The 20-gauge shotgun, also known as "20-bore", is a type of smooth-bore shotgun that fires a shell that is smaller in caliber () than a 12-gauge shotgun (). It is often used by beginning shooters for target practice and for hunting small game.
D ...
shotgun.
After Sharee was arrested in February 2000, she was held without bail until her trial. On December 12, 2000, the trial began and her case made national headlines. According to the prosecution, Sharee wanted Bruce dead for his money and that a divorce would not have given her enough. After two days of deliberation, on December 22, the jury found Sharee Miller guilty on all charges. On January 29, 2001, Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Judith Fullerton sentenced Miller to life in prison for the conspiracy to commit murder charge, and 54 to 81 years for second-degree murder. She served part of her term at the Robert Scott Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Michigan and as of 2019, was serving a life sentence at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Her mother currently has custody of one of her three children.
Recent events
In 2007, while in prison, Miller was diagnosed with
posttraumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
and other mental illnesses. She also claimed that she wanted to give back to the people she had selfishly taken from.
In August 2008, a federal court judge overturned her conviction and ordered that she receive a new trial. The judge found that the suicide note from Cassaday (her boyfriend and the one who committed the homicide) should never have been admitted into court and seen by the jurors because Cassaday was dead and could not be cross examined.
On July 16, 2009, a federal court judge ordered Sharee Miller's immediate release from prison on bond pending the new trial which was ordered in August 2008. In response, on July 17, 2009, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton ordered that Miller immediately be re-arrested from prison where she was taken to the Genesee County Jail and held without bond to await new charges. Sharee Miller was arraigned on July 22, 2009, again on charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder. The new trial was scheduled to begin on October 20, 2009. Miller's attorneys appealed this action. The retrial was put on hold pending the federal appeal.
On July 29, 2009, Sharee Miller was released from the Genesee County Jail on a $100,000 recognizance bond until her new trial began.
In December 2009, Sharee Miller was found using the popular social networking site Facebook. Miller's lawyer David Nickola said that there was no reason for his client to be barred from using a computer, but Sharee's Facebook page was temporarily deactivated when it attracted publicity. "I don't think there's anything inappropriate about it," Nickola said. He states that Sharee used Facebook to keep in touch with her family members and her son who is overseas in the military. "She's an innocent person out in society and she's doing positive things," Nickola said. "Having a Facebook page to communicate with her son who is serving in the military overseas is nothing inappropriate whatsoever." While having a Facebook page is not a violation of Miller's bond, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said this is a perfect example of why people need to be careful when they're online. "People have to be careful when they're communicating with others who they don't know on the Internet," Leyton said.
On June 21, 2010, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the August 2008 federal ruling that the Cassaday suicide note was not admissible.
On November 14, 2011, the US Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals decision and remanded the case back to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the case based on recent U.S. Supreme Court case law. On February 16, 2012, the Sixth Circuit remanded the case to the District Court.
On August 2, 2012, the District Court entered its opinion and ordered reinstatement of Miller's convictions and revoked her bond. The court held the suicide note possessed sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness to satisfy defendant's constitutional right of confrontation. It also found that the Michigan Court of Appeals' factual determination, that the statements were spontaneous, voluntary, made to Cassaday's parents, and less likely to be fabricated because he was about to kill himself, were reasonable findings.
On February 11, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the federal district court's reinstatement of Miller's convictions and sentences.
In 2016, Sharee Miller, in a four-page typed letter sent to Judge Fullerton, admitted to her role in her husband's death.
On August 28, 2017, Judge Judith A. Fullerton of the Genesee County Circuit Court, issued an opinion denying Miller's motion for
relief from judgment.
In popular culture
The trial made national headlines; Miller's life was profiled on A&E ''
American Justice
''American Justice'' is an American criminal justice television program airing on the A&E Network. From 1992–2005, the show was hosted by television reporter Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the murder o ...
'', Investigation Discovery's ''
Deadly Women
''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network.
The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted by former ...
'' and on the Oxygen Channel's true crime series ''
Snapped
''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment. The series depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge agains ...
''. The case was the subject of a book, ''Fatal Error'', by Kansas City Star reporter Mark Morris and Paul Janczewski.
["Fatal Error", ]
A television movie produced by
Lifetime Television
Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...
titled ''
Fatal Desire'', starring
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...
and
Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy ...
, was based on the case. There also was an episode on ''
Forensic Files
''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was origi ...
'' about this case ("Web of Seduction", season 8, episode 24). The case was covered in a 2017 episode of ''Murderous Affairs'' titled "Dead Silence." Miller also admitted her crimes to the show "2020" in February 2022.
See also
*
List of homicides in Michigan
This is a list of homicides in Michigan. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Michigan that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into three subject areas as follows:
# M ...
References
External links
Movies Based on True Crimes: Fatal Desire [based on the murder of Bruce Miller 11/08/99 Flint, MI]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Sharee
1971 births
1999 murders in the United States
Living people
People from Flint, Michigan
American people convicted of murder
American female murderers
American murderers
American female criminals
Mariticides
People convicted of murder by Michigan
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Michigan