This century, the Sharee Miller case is one of Michigan's most notable true crime murder cases.
This case is believed to be one of the first internet murder trials in America. The love triangle that Ms. Miller fostered with a police officer resulted in the death of her husband, Bruce Miller. The Millers lived in Clio, Michigan, a suburb of rust belt Flint, Michigan.
Sharee engaged in a torrid affair over the internet with a rank and file Kansas City cop. She convinced her internet boyfriend, Jerry Cassady, to come to Michigan and murder her husband, Bruce.
Nearly all the evidence of the heinous crime was recorded in some fashion digitally over chats and videos. Thus, the case got the label "Internet Murder Case"
Bruce and Sharee Miller were middle class people. Bruce owned a small scrap yard in blue collar Clio, Michigan. His customers were primarily factory workers who fixed their own cars with parts from the Miller scrap yard.
Ms. Miller lured the murderer by using a litany of falsehoods about her husband abusing her and convincing Jerry Cassady that she was carrying his love child.
Jerry Cassady eventually killed himself, leaving behind a suicide note and a laptop computer. The laptop held a treasure trove of filthy and incriminating evidence of the murder plot.
The emails and chats gave the Genesee County jury a road map to convict Ms. Miller for her role in the murder. Sharee Miller's appeals eventually failed and she became the first internet murder case in rust belt Michigan.
In the end, two men were dead, and Sharee Miller was convicted and imprisoned for Conspiracy to commit 2nd Degree Murder.
Our guest on this episode is David Nickola, a criminal defense attorney. Mr. Nickola was Sharee Miller's defense attorney at trial.
Back in 2000, former Prosecutor Arthur Busch charged Sharee Miller with murder. The attorneys discuss the case the ins and outs of the trial. They also share their handling of the jury trial. Attorney Nickola shares insights about his client, the jury's selection, and other tidbits that are fascinating.
The national media extensively covered this internet murder case over the past 20 years. Just last week, ABC 20/20 did a segment on a confession letter Miller sent to the Judge in the case three years ago! At the trial, the Court TV covered the entire internet murder trial live, in part because it was such a novelty of the facts as one instigated over the internet. We thought you would enjoy the unfiltered perspectives on this case and this defendant.
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