Ex-trooper charged in wife’s death
NORRISTOWN >> Three years after his wife and unborn child were killed as he was cleaning his gun and it discharged in their East Norriton home, a former Pennsylvania state police trooper learned he faces manslaughter charges in connection with the deaths. Joseph Paul Miller, 36, formerly of the 3000 block of Stoney Creek Road in East Norriton, was arraigned Friday before District Court Judge Ester Casillo on two misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the March 7, 2014, deaths of his 34-year-old wife, Joanna, and their unborn baby girl.
Miller, who has resigned from his position with the state police at Skippack, remains free on $100,000 unsecured bail. Miller, who most recently resided along the first block of Oxford Lane in Horsham, had to surrender his passport and all firearms as conditions of bail. Miller waived his preliminary hearing and his case will now be listed for trial.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele alleged Miller, as a state police trooper, “had extensive knowledge of basic and mandatory procedures of gun safety and handling.”
“Despite such awareness, Miller directly caused the unlawful deaths of his wife and child by repeatedly disregarding these essential safety measures,” county Detective Lt. Stephen Forzato and state police Cpl. Robert J. Levan wrote in a criminal complaint. “Recognizing the wrongful nature of his conduct, Miller then lied to the police in an attempt to escape criminal responsibility.
“He concealed the fact that he shot Joanna at close range and purposely misled investigators by falsely claiming he was much further away. Under these circumstances, Miller’s conduct was unjustifiable, reckless and grossly negligent,” Forzato and Levan alleged.
Under state law, a person commits involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of doing a lawful or unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner they cause the death of another person. A conviction of involuntary manslaughter carries a possible maximum sentence of 2 ½ to five years in prison.
Authorities indicated the arrest was approved after extensive forensic and ballistics tests conducted during the last two years showed that Miller’s wife was shot at close range. Miller is represented by defense lawyer Timothy Woodward.
“Joe is a standup guy who accepts responsibility for the unfortunate and accidental death of his wife and young child,” Woodward said on Friday on Miller’s behalf.
The investigation began about 2:24 p.m. March 7, 2014, when Miller called 911 and stated he had just shot his pregnant wife in the head while cleaning his gun at their East Norriton home. The Glock 39 .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun was Miller’s personal weapon, which he had been qualified to use by the state police, court papers alleged.
“I was about to clean my gun and I didn’t realize there was a round … I shot my wife. There was one round in there. I didn’t realize there was a round in there,” Miller allegedly stated to 911 operators according to court documents.
Miller, a seven-year veteran of the state police force who was off-duty at the time of the shooting, allegedly told authorities his two children also were in the house at the time of the shooting.
“Joanna, I love you, and my wife is pregnant also … she’s due July 4,” Miller allegedly said as he was on the phone with 911 operators. “(Expletive) I can’t believe I (expletive) did this.”
The Millers had been married since March 2009 and resided at the home with their two children, then ages 4 and 2, and Joanna’s two older sons, ages 11 and 8, according to court papers.
Joanna Miller, who suffered a gunshot wound to her left temple, was transported to Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown and before being transported to a trauma center went into cardiac arrest, authorities alleged. Doctors performed emergency surgery in an attempt to save the unborn child. Following the surgery, Joanna Miller was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. The baby girl, at 24 weeks’ gestation, suffered life-threatening distress and was provided critical emergency care but was pronounced dead at 4:24 p.m., authorities said.
An autopsy concluded the cause of death for Joanna Miller was a “perforating close range gunshot wound of the head.” The coroner noted the woman’s left temple area was “surrounded by dense gunpowder stipple indicating a close range gunshot wound,” according to the criminal complaint.
The coroner determined the baby’s cause of death was “precipitous delivery due to maternal gunshot wound.” The manner of death for both mother and child was ruled homicide, court papers indicate. Detectives alleged Miller brought the handgun into the family room of the East Norriton home, where his wife was seated on the floor, vacuum-sealing children’s
clothing. Miller allegedly told detectives he began the disassembly process in the family room, that he was looking at the gun when he squeezed the trigger but did not see Joanna and he did not think he was pointing the gun anywhere near her, according to the arrest affidavit. Miller told detectives that after he pulled the trigger, the weapon discharged once. When investigators initially asked about his distance from his wife when he pulled the trigger, Miller stated that he was probably eight to 10 feet away. Later, Miller changed his answer and told investigators that the distance between them was roughly 2 feet instead, according to the arrest affidavit.
Miller allegedly told detectives he did not intentionally shoot his wife, that “it was an accident.” Miller added to detectives, “I love her to death.”
In June 2014, then District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman found that her evaluation of the investigation at that point revealed that Miller was “negligent in his handling of the firearm” but not criminally liable, according to the arrest affidavit. Ferman advised, however, that the district attorney reserved the right to review the matter should investigators develop any new evidence or any evidence to the contrary.
“After evidence to the contrary was examined, District Attorney Ferman authorized the investigation to continue,” Forzato and Levan wrote.
Upon consideration of distance determination test patterns and additional inquiry, investigators determined that the muzzle of Miller’s gun was between 3 and 6 inches away from Joanna’s head when he shot her to death, according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives said evidence demonstrated that Miller “fully understood Glock firearm safety procedures and the standards of care necessary to protect others from a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death.”
Investigators concluded Miller should have been aware that his wife was seated right next to him and that the muzzle was pointed directly at her head when he pulled the trigger and shot her to death, court papers indicate.
“Consequently, Miller lied to police when he stated that he did not know where Joanna was at the time of the shooting. Miller also lied when he told police he was eight to ten feet away from Joanna, and then lied again when he changed his answer and stated he was roughly two feet away,” Forzato and Levan alleged.