In the late 1990s, Sharee Miller, a young mother of three in her twenties, crossed paths with Bruce Miller while working at his auto salvage yard in Flint, Michigan. Their whirlwind romance quickly blossomed, and within just four months, the couple tied the knot at a Las Vegas chapel. Sadly, the seemingly idyllic union was soon overshadowed by a web of deceit that would ultimately lead to a shocking tragedy.
Sharee’s Online Escapades
Despite her newfound marital status, Sharee spent extensive hours engaging in online chat rooms, a habit that consumed much of her attention while her husband, Bruce, was occupied with running his business.
It was during these virtual interactions that Sharee encountered Jerry Cassaday, a former homicide investigator from Kansas City, Missouri, who was struggling with the aftermath of a failed marriage and a downward spiral in his career.
The Online Affair
Sharee’s manipulative nature quickly came to the fore as she began weaving a complex web of lies to entrap the emotionally vulnerable Cassaday. Fabricating stories of abuse and false pregnancies, Sharee managed to convince Cassaday that her husband, Bruce, was a dangerous and abusive man and that her life was in jeopardy.
As their online bond evolved into a physical affair. Sharee faked two pregnancies which she claimed Cassaday was responsible for and told him in those two instances that Bruce had caused their abortions.
Sharee and Cassaday hatched a sinister plan to eliminate Bruce. Cassaday, driven by Sharee’s manipulations, traveled 800 miles from Reno, Nevada, to Flint, Michigan, to carry out the murder. On November 8, 1999, Bruce Miller was fatally shot at his workplace, with Cassaday as the trigger man.
In the aftermath of the murder, Sharee quickly severed ties with Cassaday, leaving him to face the consequences of his actions. Cassaday, consumed by guilt and despair, took his own life in February 2000, but not before leaving behind a briefcase filled with incriminating evidence that would ultimately implicate Sharee in the plot.
The Investigation and Trial
The initial investigation into Bruce’s murder pointed to another suspect, John Hutchinson, a former employee of the auto salvage yard. However, as the evidence began to mount, the focus shifted to Sharee and her involvement in the crime.
Sharee had told investigators that Hutchinson owed her late husband $2000(which was true) and that he had refused to pay him back. This was initially taken as a motive for the murder, but it did not stand.
After Cassaday’s body was found, her relatives discovered a black briefcase under his bed. Inside the briefcase, they found a letter that revealed he had finally realized Sharee Miller had been deceiving him about Bruce Miller’s alleged actions.
The briefcase also contained documentation, including airline records, hotel stays, emails, and chat logs between Cassaday and Sharee Miller. This evidence appeared to implicate Sharee Miller in the murder of Bruce Miller. The materials were then provided to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department. Based on the evidence, there was sufficient cause to arrest Sharee Miller.
During the trial, Sharee vehemently denied any wrongdoing, claiming that Cassaday’s confession had been forged and that the evidence against her had been tampered with. However, the overwhelming evidence, including the digital communications between Sharee and Cassaday, proved too compelling for the jury to ignore.
The Verdict
On December 22, 2000, Sharee Miller was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and 54 to 81 years for second-degree murder.
In August 2008, a federal court judge overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial, finding that Cassaday’s suicide note should never have been admitted as evidence since he was deceased and could not be cross-examined.
On July 16, 2009, Miller was released from prison on bond pending the new trial, but was quickly re-arrested and arraigned on charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder.
The retrial was put on hold while Miller’s attorneys appealed the decision. In 2010, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the federal ruling that Cassaday’s suicide note was not admissible. However, in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals decision and remanded the case back to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider based on recent case law.
On August 2, 2012, the District Court reinstated Miller’s convictions and revoked her bond, finding that Cassaday’s suicide note possessed sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness to satisfy the defendant’s constitutional right of confrontation. The court also found that the Michigan Court of Appeals’ factual determination, that the statements were spontaneous, voluntary, made to Cassaday’s parents, and less likely to be fabricated because he was about to kill himself, were reasonable findings.
On February 11, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the federal district court’s reinstatement of Miller’s convictions and sentences. As of 2019, Sharee Miller was still serving a life sentence at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan.