Blog on the Lillypad
Friday, October 01, 2004
 | Four New Books at BASSENCO's Bookstore
The bookstore for Fundamentalists, recovering Fundamentalists and former Fundamentalists has four new offerings this month. Click here to take a look. |
 | Ann Miller charged with first degree murder in Eric Miller's death
Eric Miller died in 2000 of arsenic poisoning. His wife, a researcher at Glaxo, and a man named Derril Willard (her colleague), were having an affair. Police eventually concluded that one poisoning event occurred at a bowling alley where the unsuspecting Eric went bowling with several of Ann's colleagues, including Willard. Miller suffered another, fatal episode after eating a meal prepared by his wife at their home. |
The investigation into his death took a shocking turn when Derril Willard killed himself after the police began to investigate him. He left behind a note, and there had been conversation with his lawyer, which his lawyer refused to divulge, citing his late client's privilege to keep such conversation private. Much later, a judge ruled that the lawyer had to disclose the conversations to police.
I was working at Glaxo at the time that Eric Miller died, though I never met Ann Miller or Derril Willard. Many researchers at Glaxo have access to a compound high in arsenic, as it is used commonly in the research labs. Both Ann Miller and Derril Willard had it close at hand.
Ann Miller left Glaxo soon afterward and moved to Wilmington, NC. Now, four years later, she has been indicted on first degree murder charges. This case has been extremely slow to develop, stalled by one amazing development after another. Eric Miller was a bright, handsome, dedicated young man doing AIDS research, and the notion that anybody could have poisoned him is stunning. Innocent as a lamb, he was a marriage counselor with his wife for their church, working with other couples to help them. The fact that she was having an affair while taking such a role demonstrates a certain gifted cynicism in Ann Miller.
| Kudos to our local news team. When ever they run an update on the case, they feature a thumbnail picture of Eric Miller, a reminder to readers that an innocent man was killed (no matter who killed him). The practice of keeping the victim's face before the public is a good one. Investigation and justice have moved very slowly for the late Eric Miller. Let's hope that the case is soon sifted out, and the guilty person(s) identified once and for all. |  |
