Prosecutors on Monday formally charged Martin Kenneth Miller, a local Christian-school trustee, carpenter and neighborhood activist, with killing his wife.

Miller, 45, made a brief first appearance in Douglas County District Court and didn’t speak except to say “yes” to one of Judge Paula Martin’s questions about scheduling his case.

Miller is charged with killing his wife of 25 years, Mary Miller, 46, early Wednesday at their landmark, nautical-themed home at 2105 Carolina St.

A document filed in court Monday showed the couple’s school-aged children, who were home at the time of the death, will be witnesses in the case. Other witnesses include a Kansas Bureau of Investigation chemist and Kris Sperry, a Lawrence native who’s now the chief medical examiner for the state of Georgia.

Sperry is nationally known for his work examining the hundreds of bodies found in 2002 on the grounds of a Georgia crematory. Lawrence Police consulted with him as an expert while investigating the Miller case, Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney said.

“I don’t want to discuss what information any of the witnesses might be offering until we have an opportunity to present it in court,” she said.

Martin Miller initially told police he woke up about 6 a.m. Wednesday and found his wife in bed in a different room, and not breathing. Police initially said a coroner didn’t think there were any signs of foul play but arrested Miller on Friday after a coroner conducted an autopsy and ruled the death a homicide.

Kenney, whose office filed the murder charge, would not say how Mary Miller is thought to have died.

“I’m afraid that question is not going to be answered until we can have a public hearing on the charges,” she said. “I don’t want to do anything that in any way prejudices the defendant’s ability to have a fair trial.”

Martin Miller listens to the judge at his first appearance in Douglas County District Court, where he was charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Mary. Miller was charged Monday.

Miller is chairman of Veritas Christian School’s board of directors. He owns “The Carpenter’s Shop,” a home-based business, and helped found the Centennial Neighborhood Assn.

He appeared in court Monday with his attorney, Michael Riling of Lawrence, who waived a formal reading of the murder charge. Miller’s next court date will be Aug. 19, at which time a preliminary hearing will be scheduled.

About 10 people gathered in the courtroom to watch Monday’s proceedings. Most declined to comment afterward. One of the observers, 55-year-old Dave Doll of Lawrence, described himself of a friend of Martin Miller’s.

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He called Miller a “great and honest man” and said Mary Miller’s death was a shock. He said he wasn’t qualified to talk about specifics of the case.

“I was here to support him and observe the process,” Doll said.