3 Utah women were killed at random for their vehicles, police say

TORREY, Wayne County — An Iowa man accused of killing three people in central Utah had no prior contact with his victims and no ties to the area, the Utah Department of Public Safety said Thursday.

Ivan W. Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa, is believed to have killed three women at random in Wayne County; they include a woman in her 80s at her home in Lyman and two women hiking just off state Route 12 between Torrey and Teasdale. Miller was arrested early Thursday near Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden said the victims were targeted only because Miller wanted to take their vehicle.

“There’s nothing to suggest they were specifically targeted,” he said. “Other than providing comfort.”

The names of the three women have not yet been disclosed. Roden said they were “from the area” but not related to each other.

Investigators are still trying to establish a timeline of Miller’s movements. They think the man first went to the old woman’s house, killed her, and then took her car. Miller then drove about 25 miles to the trailhead, where he killed two more women, described as being in their 30s and 40s, and then took their cars, police said.

The manner of death of each victim has not yet been released.

Roden said that how Miller reached the old woman’s house is still being investigated.

The two women killed near the walking path were found by their husbands who went looking for them when they did not return home on time. The men called the police after finding their bodies. Roden said police responding to the incident found the elderly woman’s stolen vehicle nearby and tracked her to her home, where her body was found.

He said multiple agencies, including the FBI, used technology such as license plate readers and “integrated tracking services” and tracked the car stolen from one of the two women in Torrey to southern Utah, then northern Arizona and eventually southern Colorado. That vehicle was found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After a brief search of the area, Miller was located and arrested without incident.

Officers in Colorado were notified around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday that the stolen vehicle wanted in connection with three homicides in Utah was in their area, according to a statement from Pagosa Springs police.

“A police officer in Pagosa Springs found the vehicle within city limits. The vehicle was later abandoned in Centennial Park downtown,” the statement said.

Around 2:40 p.m., Miller was located and taken into custody.

According to police, “During a search of Miller, he was found with a concealed handgun and a large knife. Miller was arrested for possession of a concealed weapon. In a subsequent interview, Miller was linked to the deaths in Utah.”

Information was not yet available as to whether Miller was at a hotel, a residence or outdoors.

Investigators questioned Miller in Colorado on Thursday to learn more about his crimes, Roden said. Formal charges are also being prepared in Utah so Miler can be extradited to Wayne County.

“Investigations will continue into Thursday morning as members of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and the Utah Crime Lab investigate two crime scenes in the Lyman and Torrey area,” the Department of Public Safety said in a statement Thursday. “There is no ongoing threat to the public and investigators have no outstanding suspects.”

As news of the three deaths spread throughout Wayne County Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office issued a statement asking “all residents to take extra precautions, keep lights on, doors locked, stay home or with others this evening if possible. Multiple law enforcement agencies are in the area at this time.” Law enforcement agencies in surrounding counties issued similar messages.

All schools in Wayne County canceled classes “out of an abundance of caution” on the Thursday before Miller’s arrest. According to Torrey city administrators, counselors will be available for students and teachers “when classes resume next week.” The Wayne County Courthouse in Loa also announced it would close Thursday.

Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright released a statement offering his “deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims. This is a heartbreaking moment for our small, close-knit community.”

“Our community is in great pain today,” he said. “I want to commend the professionalism and rapid response of law enforcement during yesterday’s multi-state search. Their work has brought clarity and safety back to our community in an extremely difficult and uncertain day.

“Our community is strong. In the days ahead, we will support each other, check on our neighbors, and ensure those affected by this tragedy are not alone.”

Miller was scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of burglary, larceny, marijuana possession and unfit to bear arms, according to court records.

According to court records, Miller was found Dec. 31 in a cabin at Lake Wapello State Park in Davis County, Iowa. According to court documents, a state park ranger who was going to clean the cabin and prepare it for an arriving guest noticed the cabin was unlocked and realized it looked like someone was living inside because food and pans were visible.

“I went to check the bedrooms and found a fully loaded 7.62 x 54 bayonet bolt-action rifle and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with scope and bipod, as well as several loaded magazines and extra ammunition in boxes and loose ammunition in a bag,” the ranger wrote in court documents.

While rangers were investigating, Miller “came to the door, knocked softly, then immediately threw up his hands and backed away. I went outside with Mr. Miller and I recognized him from a previous incident. He told me, ‘It’s okay, you can arrest me now,'” the charges state.

Miller claimed he unlocked the cabin a few days ago “so he could get into a warm place.”

A few months before that, Miller had been charged by Alaska wildlife troopers near Bristol Bay with “operating a vessel not equipped with personal flotation devices,” according to an Alaska Department of Public Safety bulletin.