The suspect in a triple homicide in Utah was arrested in Pagosa Springs early the morning of March 5 during a multistate effort.
Ivan W. Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa, was arrested on a weapons charge, a charge of aggravated motor vehicle theft and for Utah authorities.
Miller appeared in Archuleta County Court on Friday afternoon for advisement.
Miller’s attorney, public defender Scott Van Zandt, stated in court Friday his client will fight extradition to Utah, also emphasizing his client is innocent until proven guilty.
From Utah to Colorado
According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, on March 4, the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center was notified by the husbands of a pair of hikers that they had discovered their wives deceased near a trailhead.
That evening, law enforcement confirmed the double homicide — an aunt and niece, Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, 34 — and located a suspicious vehicle. The agency reported that the hikers’ vehicle, a Subaru Outback, was also identified as stolen.
The agency reported that officers traveled to the residence of the suspicious vehicle’s owner in Lyman, Utah, the same evening, where they discovered the third victim, Margaret Oldroyd, 86, deceased.
The agency noted there is no known evidence linking the hikers with Oldroyd.
That night, the agency reported, investigators utilized automated license plate readers and real-time tracking to track the Subaru from southern Utah into Colorado.
“The vehicle was tracked through southern Utah into northern Arizona and eventually into Colorado,” according to the Utah agency.
At approximately 11:10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, the Pagosa Springs Police Department (PSPD) and Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office were notified of a possible stolen vehicle related to three suspicious deaths occurring in Wayne County, Utah, according to a PSPD press release.
“A Pagosa Springs police officer found the vehicle within the city limits,” the PSPD press release explains. “The vehicle was then abandoned in Centennial Park in the downtown area. PSPD officers secured the vehicle. A manhunt for the suspect ensued with PSPD drones and assistance from La Plata County Sheriff’s deputies providing canines, Archuleta County Sheriff and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.”
At approximately 2:41 a.m., PSPD Assistant Chief Brooks Brown located a subject matching the suspect description, who was later identified as Miller.
“Upon a frisk of Miller, he was found in possession of a concealed handgun and large knife. Miller was arrested for possession of concealed weapons,” the PSPD press release states. “A subsequent interview linked Miller to the deaths in Utah.”
He was then transported to the Archuleta County detention center, with the Utah agency reporting he was taken into custody without incident.
The afternoon of March 5, the Utah agency reports, agents departed for Colorado to retrieve the vehicle and to serve an arrest warrant to Miller for the Utah homicides.
The Utah agency stated Miller was confirmed to have been driving his personal vehicle in Utah, with the department noting that, on Feb. 28, Miller’s personal vehicle was disabled in a collision with an elk in the Wayne County area.
This remains an active investigation, according to the PSPD press release. Authorities are urging anyone with information related to this incident to contact the PSPD via dispatch at (970) 731-2160.
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