Ambiguity: Murder, Assisted Suicide, or Accident?

In the early morning hours of October 8, 1964, thirty-four-year-old housewife and mother of three Lucille Miller placed a frantic call to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department to report that there had been a car accident on remote Banyan Street and her husband had been killed. When deputies arrived at the scene, the car was still in flames and, as Lucille had described, her husband Gordon “Cork” Miller was in the passenger seat, nearly unrecognizable from the extent of the fire damage.

The evidence at the scene appeared to support Lucille’s version of events; the car had gone off the road while they were driving and caught fire. Lucille managed to get out of the car, but Cork was unconscious and she was unable to get him out. Less than twelve hours later, however, Lucille’s story began to fall apart and by the end of the day she was arrested for the murder of her husband.

 At first, the case against Lucille Miller seemed relatively straightforward; she killed her husband for the insurance money and to pursue a relationship with another man. But as the investigation unfolded and investigators began digging into the Miller’s lives, the story became significantly more complicated and no one seemed able to decide whether Cork’s death was in fact a murder.

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References

2014. A Crime to Remember (season 2, episode 6). Directed by Elise Greven. Performed by Elise Greven.

Hartsfield, Jack. 1964. "Alta Loma crash scene sifted by detectives." San Bernardino County Sun, October 9: 16.

—. 1965. "Defendant tells her story of 'death night'." San Bernardino County Sun, February 17: 1.

—. 1965. "Hayton denies telling loves to Mrs. Miller." San Bernardino County Sun, February 9: 1.

—. 1964. "Mrs. Miller charged with murder." San Bernardino County Sun, October 14: 1.

—. 1965. "Mrs. Miller's views of Hayton recorded." San Bernardino County Sun, February 2: 1.

—. 1964. "No charges filed; divorce action told." San Bernardino County Sun, October 10: 11.

—. 1965. "Uproar sweeps court as verdict announced." San Bernardino County Sun, March 6: 1.

Hertel, Howard. 1965. "Miller slain for money, trial told." Los Angeles Times, January 20: 29.

—. 1965. "Mrs. Miller pictured as boasting of 'romance'." Los Angeles Times, January 29: 2.

Hertel, Howard, and Art Berman. 1964. "Judge rules Miller murder case mistrial; re-set Jan. 11." Los Angeles Times, December 8: 2.

Hertel, Howard, and Tom Goff. 1964. "Dentist's wife indicted for car fire death." Los Angeles Times, October 21: 2.

Los Angeles Times. 1964. "Dentist dies in auto blaze; wife arrested." Los Angeles Times, October 9: 3.

—. 1964. "Dentist under drug influence, jury will hear." Los Angeles Times, October 20: 3.

Lucille Miller v. State of California. 1968. 392 U.S. 616 (Supreme Court of United States, June 17).

Miller, Debra J. 2006. "A mother's crime."  Los Angeles Times, April 2.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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