Gary Miller was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of seven year old April Wilson
According to court documents Gary Miller would kidnap April Wilson who would be brought to a remote location where she was sexually assaulted and murdered
Gary Wilson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Gary Wilson would be executed by lethal injection on December 5 2000
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When Was Gary Miller Executed
Gary Miller was executed on December 5 2000
Gary Miller Case
In September 1989, Gary Dean Miller was convicted and sentenced to death for the November 1988 rape and murder of seven-year old April Marie Wilson. Miller confessed to the rape and murder of April Marie Wilson. Miller’s description of the manner of April’s death was consistent with the pathologist’s testimony at trial.
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On the morning of November 11, 1988, two men were quail hunting in a pasture in a rural area of Jones County, Texas. As they were walking through the pasture, the men found children’s clothing, a blanket, a Raggedy Ann doll, a bottle of Jergen’s lotion, and some paper towels. Some of the items appeared to have blood on them. Knowing that a little girl was missing, the men called law enforcement authorities with this information and April’s body was subsequently located in the pasture.
In his written confession, Miller stated that, after working and socializing on the evening of November 10, 1988, he returned to his home in Merkel, Texas about 1:30 a.m., knowing that April, a seven-year old child, was spending the night there.
According to Miller, he had been drinking alcohol and did not want to stay home so he woke April to see if she wanted to go “riding around.” Eventually, Miller and April stopped riding around, and April hugged him because he “was depressed.” Miller claimed that he “did not know what happened,” but he started abusing April. He placed April on the tailgate of the truck; even though she was scared, he told her to remove her clothes. April was crying, and Miller told her to be quiet. He then removed his own clothes, raped her and engaged in oral sex. Miller said that he panicked and started choking April and hitting her with something he had picked up from the ground.
Miller stated that April stopped fighting, and he, apparently believing she was dead, used coat hangers to drag her body into some brush. Miller went back to his home to get April’s belongings to dump with her body; however, he could not locate the body when he returned to the scene.
Miller said he “passed out” after again returning home. Later that morning, the other individuals who lived with Miller noticed that April was missing. When Miller was asked if he had seen her, Miller stated that he had not, then pretended to assist in the efforts to locate her.
The pathologist who performed the autopsy testified that the cause of death was “multiple blunt force injuries of the head, neck, and trunk.” The fractures to the head were such that the blows had to be delivered with “extreme force,” multiple times. Many contusions and abrasions had been inflicted on April’s face; her right jaw was fractured, which was consistent with being hit. There were bruises on and thorns in the ball of April’s foot, indicating that April had put her foot down, possibly while being dragged. The pathologist described the appearance of trauma and excessive damage to body cavities caused by the sexual assault.
At the guilt-innocence phase of trial, Miller presented an insanity defense. Miller presented testimony from lay witnesses who stated that the offense was out of character for Miller and that he simply must not have known right from wrong at the time of the offense. Miller also presented testimony from psychologist Kevin Karlson, who opined that Miller was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offense, a dissociative episode. The jury ultimately rejected the insanity defense and found Miller guilty of capital murder.
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2000/20001128millerfacts.htm
