Christopher Miller pleads not guilty to indictment charging him with murder
A Deer Park man accused of fatally shooting his father — a retired Suffolk police detective and longtime member of the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company — pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at his arraignment on an indictment in Riverhead on Tuesday.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia told acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice StevenPilewski that defendant Christopher Miller, 43, admitted shooting retired Suffolk Det. John Miller four times with a shotgun on March 19 at their Bruno Lane home during a videotaped confession. Pilewski ordered defendant Christopher Miller, 43, held without bail pending trial.
“Four gunshots rang out on Bruno Lane,” Aboulafia said. “Those gunshots stole the life of 75-year-old John Miller, who was gunned down in his own home.”
Miller pleaded “not guilty by insanity” at his first court appearance, on March 20 in Central Islip. “Clearly, my client has a history of mental health issues which we are going to fully explore,” said Glenn Obedin, Miller’s attorney.
Pilewski ordered Miller to return to court on June 12. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life.
The events that led to the fatal shooting began on March 17, when Miller was involved in a car accident with a motorist in Stony Brook, Aboulafia said. The defendant got into a fight with the other driver and was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
John Miller, unaware of his son’s whereabouts, attempted to report the defendant missing the following day. A Suffolk police officer arrived at his home on March 18 to complete a missing-person report, and later informed the retired detective his son was in the emergency room, the prosecutor said.
The victim picked up Miller at the hospital that evening and brought him to his Deer Park home, where he has been living while going through a divorce. Father and son quarreled early on March 19 before Miller opened fire with the shotgun, Aboulafia said. The gunshots were recorded on surveillance video, which also captured Miller fleeing the scene.
Miller attempted to steal a landscaping truck, the prosecutor told Pilewski, and then hid in a shed in a yard in Dix Hills. A resident saw a “suspicious person” in the shed and called 911. The First Precinct officer who responded to John Miller’s March 18 missing person call responded to the 911 call. The officer, Aboulafia said, informed Miller that his father was worried about him and said he would take the defendant home.
Miller initially resisted, but eventually returned to the Bruno Lane home, where the officer discovered the retired detective’s body in a pool of blood, with the shotgun nearby, Aboulafia said. Miller tried to run upstairs to flee, but the officer was able to detain him.
Friends told Newsday last month that John Miller was deeply committed to public service and his community. In addition to his 25-plus years with the Suffolk County Police Department, he was also a member of the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company for 57 years, serving as its chief four times and its president twice. Christopher Miller was also a longtime member of the fire department.
Miller, a trustee of the SCPD’s First Precinct Brotherhood, was an advocate for retired and current officers. He raised money and was a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, which assists injured former servicemen and servicewomen.
Miller helped plan funerals for Long Island first responders who died after 9/11 and assisted the American Red Cross after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, friends and colleagues said.
A Deer Park man accused of fatally shooting his father — a retired Suffolk police detective and longtime member of the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company — pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at his arraignment on an indictment in Riverhead on Tuesday.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia told acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice StevenPilewski that defendant Christopher Miller, 43, admitted shooting retired Suffolk Det. John Miller four times with a shotgun on March 19 at their Bruno Lane home during a videotaped confession. Pilewski ordered defendant Christopher Miller, 43, held without bail pending trial.
“Four gunshots rang out on Bruno Lane,” Aboulafia said. “Those gunshots stole the life of 75-year-old John Miller, who was gunned down in his own home.”
Miller pleaded “not guilty by insanity” at his first court appearance, on March 20 in Central Islip. “Clearly, my client has a history of mental health issues which we are going to fully explore,” said Glenn Obedin, Miller’s attorney.
Pilewski ordered Miller to return to court on June 12. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life.
The events that led to the fatal shooting began on March 17, when Miller was involved in a car accident with a motorist in Stony Brook, Aboulafia said. The defendant got into a fight with the other driver and was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
John Miller, unaware of his son’s whereabouts, attempted to report the defendant missing the following day. A Suffolk police officer arrived at his home on March 18 to complete a missing-person report, and later informed the retired detective his son was in the emergency room, the prosecutor said.
The victim picked up Miller at the hospital that evening and brought him to his Deer Park home, where he has been living while going through a divorce. Father and son quarreled early on March 19 before Miller opened fire with the shotgun, Aboulafia said. The gunshots were recorded on surveillance video, which also captured Miller fleeing the scene.
Miller attempted to steal a landscaping truck, the prosecutor told Pilewski, and then hid in a shed in a yard in Dix Hills. A resident saw a “suspicious person” in the shed and called 911. The First Precinct officer who responded to John Miller’s March 18 missing person call responded to the 911 call. The officer, Aboulafia said, informed Miller that his father was worried about him and said he would take the defendant home.
Miller initially resisted, but eventually returned to the Bruno Lane home, where the officer discovered the retired detective’s body in a pool of blood, with the shotgun nearby, Aboulafia said. Miller tried to run upstairs to flee, but the officer was able to detain him.
Friends told Newsday last month that John Miller was deeply committed to public service and his community. In addition to his 25-plus years with the Suffolk County Police Department, he was also a member of the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company for 57 years, serving as its chief four times and its president twice. Christopher Miller was also a longtime member of the fire department.
Miller, a trustee of the SCPD’s First Precinct Brotherhood, was an advocate for retired and current officers. He raised money and was a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, which assists injured former servicemen and servicewomen.
Miller helped plan funerals for Long Island first responders who died after 9/11 and assisted the American Red Cross after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, friends and colleagues said.
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