A man accused of killing three women in Utah in order to steal their cars and credit cards is already known to Iowa police: He was arrested in the state about two months ago on suspicion of breaking into cabins and illegally hunting on a hunting preserve, court documents show.
In January, officials released Ivan Miller, 22, without bail on the Iowa charges, vowing to appear in court at his next court appearance.
But Miller missed Friday’s arraignment because he is in jail in southern Colorado after authorities tracked him down in a stolen vehicle.
Miller is represented in Colorado by the state public defender’s office. Justin Bogen, administrator of the Pagosa Springs Judicial District Office, declined to comment Thursday.
Meanwhile, in the beautiful desert country of southern Utah, friends and relatives of the murdered woman struggled to understand what authorities called a “crime of convenience.”
Miller told investigators in interviews outlined in court documents that he stole their cars and credit cards because he needed to return to Iowa.
Two bodies at trailhead, then third at home
Two victims’ husbands found their wives dead near the trailhead after they failed to return from a desert hike. The third victim, whose body was found near her home, was a churchgoer who enjoyed doing yard work and keeping it tidy.
Lt. Cameron Rowden of the Utah Department of Public Safety said there is no indication Miller had any contact with the three men.
Miller has moved frequently in recent days and even months. A few days before the killing, Miller shot an elk in the town of Loa.
He sold his pickup truck to a towing company, leaving him without a vehicle. After staying at the hotel for several days, Miller allegedly told investigators that he slept in the shed of Margaret Oldroyd, an 86-year-old resident of Lyman, Utah, just down the road from Torrey outside Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah.
Oldroyd’s Buick was found Wednesday at a trailhead about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from her home, in a rural area of farms and ranches. There, authorities said Miller told them he saw two women getting out of a Subaru and killed them before taking their car.
Linda Dewey, 65, and her niece Natalie Graves, 34, were killed and found in a dry river bed near a trail mostly used by locals. Their husbands called 911 and waved the rangers to stop.
“Our family is grieving the loss of two family members who bonded over the beauty of this place while hiking in one of their favorite places on earth, a place they and the community cherished and considered a safe haven,” the families of Dewey and Graves said in a statement. “They were murdered. We cannot understand why this happened.”
Dewey’s family described her as a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister who had many extended family members and friends around the world.
“She was deeply loved and her family loved her dearly. She was the heart of our family,” their statement said.
Graves’ family described his wife, daughter and sister as “embodiments of joy, sunshine and beauty.”
Elderly victim remembered as lovely, with a neat yard
Police linked the Buick to its owner, Oldroyd, and found her body in the cellar under her shed.
Next door neighbor Randy Jones said he was shocked by the death of “the sweetest woman you’d ever meet.” He said she kept her flowers and lawn watered and kept neatly trimmed.
Jones said Oldroyd once worked on the shelves at a local grocery store. When Jones helped rid her yard of skunks, she would bring him a cake as a thank you.
“In rural counties, we all look out for each other,” Jones said.
In recent years, Jones said, Oldroyd rarely left home except to attend religious services and buy groceries. From time to time she would visit him and his horses.
Wayne County prosecutors said Miller shot Oldroyd in the back and stole her car while she was watching television.
Search the larger Four Corners area
After the body was found, police searched the Greater Four Corners area for Miller.
He drove through northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico before catching up with him in Pagosa Springs. Pagosa Springs is a tourist town in Colorado known for its hot spring resorts along the San Juan River.
Miller told investigators he killed the women when he realized he didn’t like the Buick and took the bank card because he needed money to return to Iowa, court documents state.
Miller is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Iowa on felony charges including second-degree burglary and misdemeanor theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm. He was released without bail on a promise to appear in court to face the charges, according to a Jan. 13 court order.
Suspect released after arrest at Iowa state park
Miller was arrested on Dec. 31 after rangers at a southern Iowa state park entered a cabin to prepare it for a reservation later that day.
They found the front door unlocked, food on the counter, a pan with bacon grease on the stove, a container with several marijuana cigarette butts, and loaded firearms, including a bolt-action rifle with a bayonet and an AR-10 with a scope and bipod, according to the arrest affidavit.
The man who lived there also brought a television, an Xbox game console and a Starlink internet device, indicating that he “intended to stay at Wapello Lake State Park for an extended period of time,” according to testimony from two park rangers.
Miller showed up while the rangers were there, knocked lightly on the door and quickly admitted to breaking into the cabin three days earlier in search of a warm place, the affidavit states.
The county attorney’s office that prosecuted Miller on the Iowa charges declined Friday to answer any questions about the case, including whether Iowa prosecutors allowed Utah officials to first pursue more serious charges against Miller. The Associated Press left a voicemail Friday for his public defender in the Iowa case.
___
Slavin reported from Denver, Baker reported from Omaha, and Grover reported from Fort Collins, Colorado. Associated Press writers Sarah Broomfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this report.