Chapter 1: What case is introduced in this episode?
Hi park enthusiasts, it's Delia. If you listen to Park Predators, you already know that sometimes the most beautiful places can hide the darkest secrets. But what happens when the danger isn't miles from civilization? It's in your community, and sometimes even in your own backyard.
On Crime Junkie, hosts Ashley and Britt dive into real cases every week, from missing persons to unsolved murders, breaking down what we know, what we don't, and the details that still don't sit right. If you care about the stories behind the headlines and the victims at the center of them, you'll want to check out Crime Junkie. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, park enthusiasts.
I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra. And the case I'm going to tell you about today takes place in Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in Georgia. This is a region I've talked about before on this show in a previous episode of Park Predators titled The Conspiracy.
A lot of the feedback I received after that episode was released came from people who live near this park, grew up in the area, or who have visited it before. So many of you who DM'd me or commented on posts on social media said that you were totally surprised to learn that violent deaths, unrelated to the park's bloody war history, have happened there.
The murder of Anthony Tony Miller from the conspiracy episode was a very obscure case that took a lot of digging to be able to cover. And today's story is similarly underreported. I heard about it a long time ago while visiting eastern Tennessee, but it's taken me a few years to hunt down all the court documents and news coverage associated with it.
The case started out as a mysterious missing persons investigation in New York, but things quickly changed when law enforcement all the way down in Georgia discovered a body. From there, authorities began connecting dots between a couple that were decades younger than the dead man and a series of suspicious activities along a road trip into the Deep South. This is Park Predators.
Thank you.
Around noon on December 12th, 2015, some hikers in Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park near Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, were on a trail enjoying their walk when they stumbled upon the body of a deceased man laying on the ground next to the path. Right away, the visitors dialed 911 and got in touch with local authorities to report the gruesome discovery.
Even though the victim had been found inside the national park and the NPS was initially contacted, it was officers from the city of Fort Oglethorpe who responded to the scene to handle the investigation. When those units arrived, they saw exactly what the hikers had reported, an older male laying on the trail with apparent head trauma.
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Chapter 2: What details emerge from the discovery of the body in the national park?
The prosecution argued that by Jennifer and Robert admitting to leaving Dwayne in a state he wasn't from by himself, their actions met the criteria for exploiting or the deprivation of an elderly or disabled person.
In the end, the judge ruled that it would be up to the grand jury to decide whether to indict the couple on the murder charge, as well as whether to move forward with the exploitation charge. At the time, Jennifer had two young kids in New York from a prior relationship, but she'd previously lived in Georgia while attending a hair salon school to become a cosmetologist.
Her defense team argued that she should be given bond in the murder case because she had relatives in Georgia who were planning to let her live with them while she awaited trial. Robert's lawyer argued something similar regarding the bond issue.
He claimed that since Robert had family members close by in eastern Tennessee who were willing to ensure he abided by the conditions of a bond, he should be released on bond while awaiting trial as well.
But the prosecutor vehemently opposed the judge setting bond for both defendants because he claimed that neither Jennifer or Robert had substantial ties to the community where they'd allegedly committed the murder, and their lawyers were having to stretch the truth a bit to establish that the family they did have in the region was at all close with them.
The state argued that Robert was also a considerable flight risk because he dodged the U.S. Marshals several times after they'd informed him he was wanted for murder. Regarding this specific issue, the lead prosecutor said in part, quote, When contacted multiple times by the United States Marshals Service, he evaded them. He gave them dummy locations. That's clear indication of flight. End quote.
Before ending the preliminary hearing, the judge denied the couple bond, citing that neither of them had ties to Catoosa County, Georgia, and Robert in particular posed a flight risk.
In early April 2016, grand jurors issued indictments against the couple for one count of aggravated assault, one count of exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult or elder person, one count of malice murder, and two counts of felony murder each.
The indictments explained that the defendants' alleged actions of aggravated assault and exploitation were the felonies that qualified them for the felony murder charges. Which, if you're unfamiliar, the felony murder rule is a legal mechanism in many U.S. states that permits prosecutors to charge a person with murder if, while in the act of committing a felony, a victim dies as a result.
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