Utah police were quickly able to identify and arrest a 22-year-old Iowa man who allegedly confessed to the random murder of three women after he hit an elk with his car.
The beginning of the alleged murder spree was first reported on Wednesday when the bodies of two women were found on a hiking trail, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.
‘Miller confessed that it “had to be done” but he did not like to do it.’
DPS said the two women’s husbands found their bodies and reported it to police.
As they were investigating that crime scene, another dead woman was reportedly found in the nearby town of Torrey.
Investigators then asked help from the public to find a 2022 white Subaru Outback, which belonged to the hikers. Police warned residents in the area to be vigilant and cautious.
The vehicle was tracked through the use of license plate readers as it was driven into southern Utah, to Northern Arizona, and then into Colorado.
Colorado law enforcement officers were able to find the vehicle after it was abandoned and were able to locate a suspect nearby. He was taken into custody without incident.
He was identified as Ivan Miller and allegedly admitted to shooting the three women and stabbing one of them. He said he did so after hitting an elk with his truck on Feb. 28, which made him unable to return home. He sold the truck to the towing company and hid out in a shed.
Police said they believe he killed the first woman at her home and used her vehicle to get to the hiking trail.
He said he stabbed one of the women hikers multiple times in her heart after shooting them both and finding she was still alive. He called the women “lesbians” because one of them had blue or purple hair.
“Miller confessed that it ‘had to be done’ but he did not like to do it,” the complaint claimed.
Police said they found credit and debit cards belonging to the victims in his possession. Investigators also said that when they asked Miller about the knife he used, he produced it during their interview.
The man was charged with three counts of aggravated murder. Arrest records indicate he was also booked on carrying a concealed weapon and motor vehicle theft.
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On Thursday, the DPS reported that the victims were identified as 65-year-old Linda Dewey, her 34-year-old niece Natalie Graves, and 86-year-old Margaret Oldroyd. There is no evidence that Dewey and Graves had any connection to Oldroyd.
Miller had a previous criminal record that included burglary, theft, possession of marijuana, and a weapons charge.
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