Jun 14, 2007 8:10 am US/Eastern
Suspect Could Be Charged With Fetal Homicide
by Adam May
HILLENDALE, Md. (WJZ) ―
-
-
David Lee Miller is accused of killing a pregnant woman. (WJZ)
WJZ
The Parkville man accused this week of shooting and killing his pregnant girlfriend could also be charged with causing the death of her late-term fetus.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger says he is waiting for autopsy results before making a decision on a possible charge under a fetal homicide law that was enacted in 2005.
As
Adam May reports, 24-year-old David Lee Miller and his attorney appeared at district court in Towson Wednesday. A judge denied the suspect's request for bail after reviewing police accounts of the shootings.
Miller was charged with first degree murder and attempted murder for the killing of Elizabeth Walters and the shooting of her friend Heather Lowe.
The two women were sitting in a Dodge Stratus in the parking lot of the Parkway Crossing Shopping Center at about 10:20 a.m. on Monday when they were shot.
Their attacker fled, but before Lowe was taken to Shock Trauma she told police Miller was the gunman.
"She knew his name [and] passed it on to the very first police officers on the scene," said police spokesman Bill Toohey.
In reviewing surveillance videos from the shopping center, detectives saw a black Cadillac pull up next to the victims' car in the lot.
A figure was seen getting out of the Cadillac and into the Stratus. After about two minutes, the individual got out of the Stratus and the Cadillac was seen pulling off.
The video then showed a number of people running toward the Stratus.
"The man who is presumably the killer pulled up in a black Cadillac," said Toohey. "Investigators started following up and discovered that Miller's wife owned a black Cadillac and so the pieces began to fall together."
Investigators say Walters was seven months pregnant with Miller's baby and that Miller was married to another woman.
Some who knew the murdered woman said they were saddened but not surprised by the tragic turn of events. Friends and co-workers said they initially suspected Miller when they heard Walters had been killed.
Walters was a waitress at the Charles Village Pub.
Friends and co-workers said they had repeatedly seen Miller visiting Walters at work allegedly trying to convince her to get an abortion.
Despite the charges against Miller, his lawyer James Dills said he and his client would fight the accusations.
"We are going do what we can to exonerate him of these charges [and] accusations," said Dills.
Dills also said his client turned himself in voluntarily and that he complied with all the laws and procedures asked him by police.
The details of Miller's surrender were not yet fully disclosed by police.
A Memorial Fund has been set up for Elizabeth Walters. Donations can be made at any Bank of America or by mailing to:
The Elizabeth Walters Memorial Fund
c/o Bank of America
7601 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21234
Checks can be made payable to The Elizabeth Walters Memorial Fund.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
