Archive for Friday, July 27, 2007
State Supreme Court upholds Martin Miller murder conviction
July 27, 2007, 10:07 a.m. Updated July 27, 2007, 10:33 a.m.
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Martin Miller
Topeka — The Kansas Supreme Court today upheld the murder conviction of Martin Miller.
Oral arguments in the case were held before the court in April. The court's decision was unanimous.
Miller was appealing his conviction in the July 28, 2004, strangulation death of his wife, Mary Miller.
Miller contended that pornographic photos found on his computer should not have been admitted as evidence in the trial, and that in closing arguments prosecutors prejudiced the jury by referring to him as the killer.
"This double life of pornography, which defendant attempted to hide from his wife, underlies the State's theory regarding the motivation for murder. The pervasiveness of defendant's fixation and the juxtaposition of that fixation to his family life are key to the State's theory. Motive and intent are material facts in the case," the court ruled.
Miller was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Prosecutors say that the evidence of pornography was critical to establish motive, and that references to Miller in closing arguments were appropriate.
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27 July 2007
at 10:32 a.m.
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50YearResident (Anonymous) says…
Great job for the State Supreme Court!
“The only thing worse than the average murderer is one that thinks he is smart enough to get away with it.” (50Year)
27 July 2007
at 10:56 a.m.
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HateTheYankees (Anonymous) says…
Yeah, was that a self-reference? Weird.
27 July 2007
at 11:02 a.m.
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Baille (Anonymous) says…
“You know that Baille? He is a sharped-dressed man.” - Baille, Letter from Birmingham Jail (2007)
27 July 2007
at 11:02 a.m.
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booze_buds_03 (Anonymous) says…
Nice.
“The only thing smarter than myself is myself” (booze_buds_03)
27 July 2007
at 12:06 p.m.
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trinity (Anonymous) says…
i like.
“i amaze me”. (trinity)
27 July 2007
at 12:12 p.m.
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oscarfactor (Anonymous) says…
“It's not who you know, but if they know you and like you.” (oscarfactor, 2007)
27 July 2007
at 12:17 p.m.
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Ceallach (Anonymous) says…
Martin Miller is a killer. (Everyone, except the woman from his church who married him in jail.)
Well, at least she will be safe for approximately 25 years. (Ceal 2007)
27 July 2007
at 12:33 p.m.
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newsreader (Anonymous) says…
he killed his wife because he had some porn that she wouldn't like???
27 July 2007
at 12:38 p.m.
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compmd (Anonymous) says…
This smells like faith/morality based precedent. If you have porn on your computer that you try to hide from people, you have a motive to kill them. This is extremely dangerous.
27 July 2007
at 12:42 p.m.
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i_have_only_valid_opinions (Anonymous) says…
Admittedly, I haven't followed this case at all. What is the link between the porn and the murder?
27 July 2007
at 12:49 p.m.
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blue73harley (Anonymous) says…
“People who quote themselves, especially in an article on convicted murderers, ROCK!” (blue73harley, circa 21st century)
For everyone not incarcerated, have a great weekend!
27 July 2007
at 12:52 p.m.
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lmpaul (Anonymous) says…
“Sometimes I know things that I didn't know I knew.” (LMPaul 2006)
27 July 2007
at 1:04 p.m.
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JJE007 (Anonymous) says…
“It's better to be dumb than sorry.” - um…me, I think.
27 July 2007
at 1:05 p.m.
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midwestmom (Anonymous) says…
Newsreader: Here is a link that will help provide you with some of the info….
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/crime/mu…
Martin Miller murdered his wife while she was sleeping, and their children were in the house.
Personally, I can't help but shudder at the prospect of his release, even in 25 years…
27 July 2007
at 1:06 p.m.
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Ceallach (Anonymous) says…
compmd, he had a pretty slick double life going that seemed important enough for him to kill in an attempt to maintain the charade. Super Christian (man/husband/dad/educator/ad nauseum) by day and Super Internet Stud by night. Although, having seen him (I lived in the same general area) I think there was room for an insanity defense . . no amount of PhotoShop knowledge could create images to qualify him for the latter, and of course the latter disqualifies him for the former. Seems he lost out all round.
27 July 2007
at 1:06 p.m.
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i_have_only_valid_opinions (Anonymous) says…
“The only thing that remains unresolved is the resolution of the problem.” (IHOVO)
27 July 2007
at 1:27 p.m.
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Shardwurm (Anonymous) says…
“All bleeding stops eventually.” (Shardwurm, 2007)
27 July 2007
at 2:12 p.m.
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juscin3 (Anonymous) says…
“I wonder if his new wife will stick around for 25 yrs.” (Juscin3 2007)
27 July 2007
at 2:20 p.m.
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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…
Ah, another upstanding christian man, a true believer and worshipper at a church on Massachusetts that studies the bible victoriously.
I hope his faith and belief in god comforts him in stir.
27 July 2007
at 2:21 p.m.
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sunshine_noise (Anonymous) says…
It just seems to me and what I've read of this situation is that I don't think Miller smothered or choked his wife I think what happened is she was choking and he just didn't help her. He ignored her and she died. Possibly when he found out he was relieved she was gone and afraid at the same time. Which is sad and indirect murder in itself. I think the sentence he received was more than fair. I hope he repents and rethinks his adiction to porn and steers clear of it. Just isn't worth the effort to get hooked on - I think sex is way too overrated anyway. Have a nice day.
27 July 2007
at 2:23 p.m.
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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…
Oh, I was supposed to quote myself:
“Ah, another upstanding christian man, a true believer and worshipper at a church on Massachusetts that studies the bible victoriously.
I hope his faith and belief in god comforts him in stir.” (yourworstnightmare).
27 July 2007
at 2:26 p.m.
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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…
“I think sex is way too overrated anyway.”
Huh? Really? Sex is like pizza, it's best cold and for breakfast.
Oh wait, no. Even if its bad, its still pretty good.
27 July 2007
at 2:27 p.m.
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costello (Anonymous) says…
“Melodie [the Millers' 14 year old daughter] also testified regarding the defendant's relationship with a woman named Carrie Parbs. She explained that the defendant would often talk with Parbs on the telephone in his carpentry shop or go visit Parbs in Eudora to swim in the pool in her apartment complex. Melodie was concerned that her father and Parbs' relationship was 'more than a friendship' because 'she flirted with him and … he kind of flirted back.' (When asked about Parbs on the day after Mary's death, the defendant told the interviewing detective that he did have a relationship with her but that it had ended the previous fall.) “
…
“The examination of the computer also revealed several photographs of the defendant and Parbs together, as well as a document entitled 'Marriage Dairy [sic],' where the defendant stated that he regretted ever marrying Mary and articulated his frustration with that relationship, and an undated letter from the defendant to Parbs. In the letter, the defendant expressed his love for Parbs but said that being exposed in an adulterous affair would destroy both himself and her. The letter concludes with the defendant stating that he and Parbs will be together in the future 'when the time is right.' Both of these documents were admitted into evidence.”
…
“The State's theory of the case was that the defendant had been living a 'double life' before Mary's death. To the public, he was a family man active in his church and his children's school. Privately, however, the defendant was extremely unhappy with his marriage, was obsessed with pornography, had been involved in an extramarital sexual relationship with Parbs for 4 years, and was active on a number of Internet dating sites. To establish the defendant's motive in killing Mary to pursue this 'other life,' the State sought to offer as evidence a few of the pornographic photographs and photographs of the defendant and Parbs as representative of the defendant's collection, as well as a number of documents written by the defendant, correspondence between the defendant and Parbs, and the defendant's profiles on the Internet dating sites.”
http://www.kscourts.org/kscases/supct…
27 July 2007
at 2:29 p.m.
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oscarfactor (Anonymous) says…
You are comparing sex to pizza?
How about sex AND pizza? (George Costanza)
27 July 2007
at 2:30 p.m.
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costello (Anonymous) says…
“I was in jury duty when this case came up:.icky.”
An innocent woman was murdered in her bed by her husband so that said husband could pursue other relationships without the public embarrassment of divorcing her.
Icky, indeed.
27 July 2007
at 2:41 p.m.
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costello (Anonymous) says…
“It just seems to me and what I've read of this situation is that I don't think Miller smothered or choked his wife I think what happened is she was choking and he just didn't help her.”
I don't know how you would reach that conclusion, unless it just makes you feel more comfortable to believe that this man didn't willfully and intentionally asphyxiate his wife while she slept in her bed. “During the autopsy's internal examination, [the coroner] noticed a flame hemorrhage in the sternohyoid muscle over the thyroid, which indicated an applied injury to the neck, and another area of hemorrhage on the superior horn of Mary's thyroid cartilage, which could only be caused by pressure applied to the neck.”
“I hope he repents and rethinks his adiction to porn and steers clear of it.”
I don't care if he's addicted to porn or not, but I strongly object to his murdering his wife.
27 July 2007
at 2:45 p.m.
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50YearResident (Anonymous) says…
“Some of the best quotes I ever heard I originated” (55Year)
Oh! There are some good ones on this thread too.
27 July 2007
at 3:37 p.m.
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snap_pop_no_crackle (Anonymous) says…
I had jello today. (snap)
27 July 2007
at 4:24 p.m.
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deec (Anonymous) says…
I was married to one of these uber-religious nutbags who maintain the dual personas of good Christian family man/ internet-and in person adulterer. It ain't fun. Luckily I divorced mine. There but for the grace of God….
27 July 2007
at 5:01 p.m.
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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…
I still get a creepy feeling when I drive by the former Miller house. The lighthouse and boat are gone, but the creepy christian-guy, porno-adulterer-murderer vibe remains.
27 July 2007
at 6:36 p.m.
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jonas (Anonymous) says…
How about we start a chain of self-quotes inside of self-quotes. Maybe it's catch it's own tail and eat itself, in a metaphorical fashion or something like that.
“I liked how Shardwurm says:'All bleeding stops eventually.' (Shardwurm, 2007)” because he's right, you either stop the flow or you run out of blood, QED” (jonas, 2007)
27 July 2007
at 6:41 p.m.
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camper (Anonymous) says…
“That place is so crowded, nobody goes there”
-Yogi Berra-
27 July 2007
at 6:51 p.m.
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camper (Anonymous) says…
Correction.
“Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded”
-Yogi Berra-
Another good one:
“A nickel isn't worth a dime today”
-Yogi Berra-
27 July 2007
at 6:55 p.m.
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camper (Anonymous) says…
Another good one.
“I didn't really say everything I said”
-Yogi Berra-
OK time for me to stop. Have a good day everyone. Over and out.
27 July 2007
at 7:04 p.m.
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somebodynew (Anonymous) says…
OK, for a “icky” topic this thread is really fun.
Let me throw something else in: This decision (which was very good) jogged my memory of the song that was written about this guy and his deed. A local band, Trucker, performed a song about this (one of the guys lived just across the street from Marty).
It can still be seen and heard at www.truckerrocks.com
click on downloads and look for “the neighbor song” I personally think it is pretty cool. At least if you know about the case.
OH !! almost forgot -
“The more you know - The less you don't know”
(and no I can't take credit for it as I heard it on a commercial — but I like it.)
27 July 2007
at 10:41 p.m.
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camper (Anonymous) says…
It was rather stupid of me to post Yogi Berra comments on this particular story. We can enjoy Yogi's wit at a more appropriate place…but not here. This was a terrible terrible tragedy and their is nothing humorous about it, nor should it be taken light-heartedly.
29 July 2007
at 12:34 a.m.
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Pywacket (Anonymous) says…
Costello~ Excellent posts.
Sunshine Noise: You think this scumbag was in any way not guilty AND you think sex is way overrated?
As soon as you crawl out from under that rock, I have some prime real estate on Mercury to sell you.