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Friday, October 3, 2008

Former Police Chief Arrested in 36- Year Old Cold case


Juror Thirteen site opened a 36-year-old cold case file on their message boards five weeks ago.

Posting an article written by Lindell Kay of JDNews.com (The Daily News) out of Jacksonville, North Carolina.

After only a few days of the stories coming out about this cold case, two people were arrested for Miller's murder... one was a former police chief.


Motorists found the body[pictured above] of Sergeant William Donald Miller lying in the middle of the road on Western Boulevard halfway between Marine Boulevard and County Club Road on September 16, 1972.

He had been shot, according to an incident report of the time.


Authorities found Miller's car on the shoulder of the road with the engine running, the lights on, a blinker clicking, and a half-cocked pistol on the seat, according to a Daily News archived report.
The Sheriff's Department, the SBI, the Marine Corps and NCIS investigated Hayden for more than a year before Miller's homicide case turned cold. Investigators at the time could not find enough substantial evidence to arrest Hayden, according to the JAG letter.


Thirty-six years later, George Hayden, 57, a police chief at Cape Carteret and Belhaven police departments, was been charged with murder in Miller's shooting death, on September 9, 2008.
Also charged in the case is Vickey Miller Hayden Cooper Babbitt, Miller's wife at the time of his death, in Oregon. Babbitt was arrested in Oregon in mid-September and didn't fight extradition back to North Carolina.


Miller, Hayden and Babbitt were all in the Marine Corps in 1972. Miller and Babbitt were married, and the three were friends. In August 1972, Miller returned to Jacksonville from training in Okinawa in to find Hayden had moved in with Babbitt.
Babbitt left Miller to live with Hayden. On Sept. 16 of that year, Miller went to meet Babbitt, but was gunned down in the middle of Western Boulevard. Investigators say Babbitt lured Miller to the spot, possibly by faking car trouble, and then Hayden shot Miller twice with an M-16 - once in the head and once in the back.
The break in the case came from a key witness who has been in fear of his life over the 36 years since the murder. His identity is still being kept silent because of that fear.
"The horror on the face of the witness was unlike anything I have seen in my 42 years of law enforcement," said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.
Juror Thirteen will be keeping up with this cold case trial!


If you have a case that needs attention, no matter how many years have passed, there is hope.

Jurorthirteen.com and JusticeInterrupted.blogspot.com work together and on other cases with other sites and resources pertaining to the murdered, missing and unsolved. If you are a family member where Justice has been Interrupted, contact Jurorthirteen.com or myself. Include details on the case your relationship to the victim and a contact number.

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2008 at 7:36 AM

    Hey, Susan... stop by and read the "Cloey's gripe" I did about this case and cases like it, when you get a chance...

    Niki :)

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  2. DelilahOctober 3, 2008 at 8:29 AM

    Fantastic job! To bring a 36 year old case to some sort of closure is a miracle in my book! What that poor witness has been going through for the last 36 years is just mind bending!

    The fact is that working together on these types of cases proves that there is still hope held out for those who think things are hopeless.

    I will be watching as Jurorthirteen brings the latest on this case, and helps pursue justice for many others.

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  3. AnonymousOctober 18, 2008 at 8:54 PM

    Thank you Susan for including Billy's story in your journal it is much appreciated.

    Please visit our blog and leave comments- Don't ever give up the fight, we are proof that Miracles still happen!

    http://miraclesstillhappen36yearslater.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. stw651February 28, 2009 at 4:02 AM

    I am a Vietnam marine whom served in "I Corps " like your brother William; I may have even served with him on operations? He is lucky to have a resolute family that refuses to let him be swept away in time. No one left behind! We Marines are tied together by a strong brotherhood that never dies; the coward, whom hid in ambush for William, is indeed a coward and no longer can bear the title of Marine; He relinquished that title the day he plotted to cut down a brother of our beloved Corp~! I was forced to retire from the Corps due to wounds 67/68 and had a loving wife and family to bring me fully home. Our prayers are with your family and we pray that after these many years, justice will prevail and that inner peace and a sense of closure will come to all of you. Our Marine families know more than others on how to tend to the wounds that bind us all together. You have brought your brother to many people and forever touched our lives; You have shown him to be an honorable father trying to keep his family together by going into harms way. God rest his soul! May peace and a sense of closure find you all! Semper fi, Well done!Ken Stewart USMC/RET.

    ReplyDelete