Shon Miller

Background

Shon Miller Sr. was a 22-year-old homeless man who was described as having a stormy relationship with his wife. He was arrested and accused of beating her and knocking her tooth out in 1997. Last August, his wife received a restraining order prohibiting him from having contact with her, and he was jailed for 90 days after violating it. He lived on the streets after getting out of jail late last year, and a few weeks before the killings his wife told him she was filing for divorce.

Friends and family members said the shootings stemmed from the relationship with his wife for two years. Bill Landry, the Gonzales Police Chief, said he could not remember a local crime so bloody and disturbing. Darryl Hambrick said: “We live in a small community; stuff of this nature doesn't happen in our quiet little town,” and also said: “When you go to church for serenity and prayer and for some kind of peace in your life, and then you go there and something tragic like this happens, it's sad that we live in a country like that.”

Timothy Vessel said: “We told her from the beginning that he wasn't the right one.” His wife’s brother said he was filing for divorce. His wife’s brother-in-law was Timothy Vessel.

The offence

On March 10, 1999, Shon Miller kicked open the doors of a church in Louisiana, fired twice into the ceiling, and ordered everybody to hit the floor during a Wednesday night Bible class. Miller marched down the aisle shooting between the benches as parishioners scattered.

When the smoke settled, three people were dead, including Miller’s wife, Carla, 25, and their 2-year-old son, Shon Jr. Four others were wounded at the one-story stucco church about 20 miles southeast of Baton Rouge in a small town of 7,000.

Miller also shot his mother-in-law, Mildred Vessel, 53, to death at her home a few blocks from the church. The killing at the home occurred before the church shootings.

A congregation member, Lolitsa Enkadi, said: “His little boy turned and said, 'Daddy.' That's when he shot. He hit his wife first and then the baby.” Another minister, the Rev. Wilbert Holmes, said: “Then he started emptying his gun.” Holmes also recounted hearing Miller’s son, Shon Jr., 2, turn around and say: “Daddy!”

According to testimony and police accounts, after emptying one clip of his semiautomatic pistol, Miller reloaded and continued shooting into the pews. Miller then left the New St. John Fellowship Baptist Church and mumbleed: “That will show you.”

Inside the church, the Rev. Clarence Stephens, pastor of the church, said the two men had told him that Miller had just shot someone and was approaching with a gun. Stephens said Miller burst into the church where about 100 adults and children were studying the third chapter of the Book of John, fired two shots into the ceiling, and ordered everyone to get down.

As his son shouted, “Daddy! Daddy!” Miller shot his wife, Mr. Stephens, and police officials said, and reloaded and fired more shots, killing his son and Vaniaro Jackson, 19, who was sitting beside Mrs. Miller.

Miller shot and killed Vaniaro Jackson, 19. Vaniaro Jackson died en route to Riverview Medical Center.

Miller also shot and wounded:

• Kinsey Jackson, 17
• Donald Rideau, 16
• Rebecca Delpit, 37
• Alesha Harvey, 14

In the church, Landry said Miller fired at least 15 times and reloaded his 9 mm pistol during the shooting.

Investigation

Two acquaintances from Belle Rose met Miller in Donaldsonville and agreed to give him a ride to his wife’s house at 40199 Coon Trap Road, just north of the Gonzales city limits, after he told them he wanted to pick up something.

When they arrived, Vessel was pulling her van into the driveway. Miller, whose last known address was 1000 Toby Ave., got out of the car and fired five shots into the van, killing his mother-in-law with three direct hits to the head. The two Belle Rose men tried to leave when Miller fired into the van, but their car stalled. Miller forced them to drive him to the church about half a mile away.

Donald Ray Smith, brother-in-law of Carla Miller, said the men told him: “You just don't understand, you don't understand. We need to get out of here. This guy is dangerous. We need to get out of here.” Smith also said the men were “real fidgety” and “real vague.”

According to police records, it was 7:43 p.m. when the call came in. Deacon Herbert Mulberry said: “When I was on the phone with the lady on 911 it started,” and said that it was two shots fired into the ceiling. Mulberry said: “It” was two shots fired into the ceiling, and after that Miller “told everybody to lie on the floor.” Holmes said: “Then he started shooting people.”

After the church shootings, Miller fled the church and was spotted by a sheriff’s deputy responding to reports of gunfire. Police cordoned off several blocks surrounding the church.

Landry said he called for assistance from the Sheriff’s Office’s Crisis Response Team. Gonzales Police Sgt. Sam Pasqua spotted Miller in a storage shed behind a house next to the church. Wiley said negotiations began to bring Miller out.

During negotiations, Miller threatened to kill himself or somebody else, continually pointed the gun at his head, his stomach and his chest, and was ranting and raving. Wiley said Miller said: “He said voices were telling him what to do, to kill himself or someone else.”

Chief Wiley said: “This contributed to a decision to bring it to a close before someone else was killed.”

A plan was put in place: a sharpshooter from the Office armed with a shotgun would shoot the pistol out of Miller’s hand, and immediately after the shot, deputies from the Crisis Response Team were to rush into the shed to subdue Miller.

Wiley said the sharpshooter fired through a hole in the wall of the shed, knocking the gun from Miller’s hand. Wiley also said the lead man on the team carried a 25-pound shield and a .45-caliber pistol and burst into the building. Wiley said the lead man tripped and his pistol accidentally fired.

A medical authorities account identified a .45-caliber slug lodged in Miller’s lower back, and Wiley said no one knew where the bullet struck until medical authorities at Riverview Medical Center reported that Miller had a .45-caliber slug lodged in his lower back.

A dispute was recorded in the narrative about whether the officer tripped. The narrative stated a question and the commentary: “I do have one question for you all now - Do you really believe that the officer "tripped"? It sounds like a great big load of crap to me.”

Arrest

Officers searched around the church area near single-family homes and winter cabbage gardens and took three hours before they found Miller in a shed about 100 yards away.

When Miller was discovered in the shed, he tried to kill himself. An officer blasted the pistol out of his hand with a shotgun at close range, wounding him. Miller was listed in guarded condition when he was taken to Medical Center of Louisiana in New Orleans.

The narrative stated that Miller was paralyzed from the waist down with buckshot wounds to the back, right hand and face. Hospital spokesman Jerry Romig said: “He was paralyzed from the waist down with buckshot wounds to the back, right hand and face.”

Other accounts stated Miller was left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit in the back by a stray bullet during apprehension. Another statement also said he was shot in the back in a standoff with the Ascension Parish sheriff’s officers and local police after the church shootings.

Trial

Shon Miller pleaded not guilty to killing his mother-in-law at her home, his wife, Carla, his 2-year-old son, Shon Junior, and Vaniaro Jackson in the church’s Bible study.

Shon Miller’s defense sought to switch his not guilty plea to a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. During sanity motions before trial, defense attorneys put on witnesses who testified that Miller received psychiatric treatment as a child. Testimony also included that Miller’s adoptive mother said Miller tried to kill himself three times.

Medical records showed that when Miller was 9 years of age, he was diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder, sleep terror disorder and exhibited strange physical behavior such as rolling his eyes, grunting, and running into walls.

The Louisiana Supreme Court later said District Judge Alvin Turner’s pre-trial rulings prevented Miller from exercising his right to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, resulting in a “constitutionally flawed jury trial.” The court also stated: “Defendant's presentation to the trial court included evidence of almost lifelong mental problems for which defendant received intermittent treatment from the age of 9.”

When Turner sentenced Miller to death in 2000, the judge called the March 10, 1999, shooting rampage “one of the most notorious cases in Louisiana history.”

In the 2000 trial, Miller was convicted of shooting and killing his mother-in-law, Mildred Vessel, in her van outside his Gonzales home on Coon Trap Road. Miller was also convicted of shooting and killing his wife, Carla Vessel Miller, 25; his son, Shon Miller Jr., 2; and church deacon Vaniaro Jackson, 19, during an evening church service at the New St. John Fellowship Church in Gonzales.

Assistant District Attorney Robin O’Bannon prosecuted the case at trial. Attorney Raymond Gautreau defended Miller during his June 2000 murder trial.

Timeline

• March 10, 1999 — Shon Miller kicked open the doors of New St. John Fellowship Baptist Church, fired into the ceiling, ordered parishioners to hit the floor, shot multiple people including his wife and son, and also had fatally shot his mother-in-law, Mildred Vessel, at her home nearby.
• March 12, 1999 — The killings were covered in a New York Times report.
• March 10, 1999 — Shon Miller attempted suicide after being found in a shed; an officer blasted the pistol out of his hand with a shotgun at close range.
• 1997 — Shon Miller was arrested and accused of beating his wife and knocking her tooth out.
• Late last year — He lived on the streets after getting out of jail.
• Aug. — His wife received a restraining order prohibiting him from having contact with her, and he was jailed for 90 days after violating it.
• 1999 — He was charged by the Gonzales police with four counts of first-degree murder and several counts of attempted murder.
• June 30, 2007 — The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the first-degree murder convictions and death sentence.
• 2000 — Turner sentenced Miller to death.
• 2007 — Miller’s retrial hearings began and a new trial date was set for Aug. 4.
• Aug. 4 of this year — Miller’s new trial date was set.
• June 6, 2008 — Shon Miller pleaded guilty to all the killings and received life in prison.
• 2008 — The death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Sentencing

In 2000, District Judge Alvin Turner sentenced Shon Miller to death. The judge called the March 10, 1999, shooting rampage “one of the most notorious cases in Louisiana history.”

After the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the convictions and death sentence in 2007, the state planned a retrial. Assistant District Attorney Robin O’Bannon said the District Attorney Tony Falterman would prepare a motion for a new trial as soon as possible in hopes of retrying the case in November.

O’Bannon said Miller would not be released as a result of the Supreme Court decision and would remain at Angola or be transferred to Ascension Parish Prison at Donaldsonville to await new trial. O’Bannon also said because Miller still faced prosecution for a crime carrying the death penalty, no bond would be set.

Falterman said: “There is no question Miller shot and killed the victims. We had witnesses. The question now is whether he (Miller) is able to proceed. It's a sanity question and we plan on going forward.”

Appeals

On June 30, 2007, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed Miller’s four first-degree murder convictions and death sentence. The court held that Turner’s pre-trial rulings prevented Miller from exercising his right to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, resulting in a “constitutionally flawed jury trial.”

The court ordered retrial.

Outcome

After his convictions and death sentence were reversed, Shon Miller pleaded guilty on June 6, 2008, to all the killings. He received life imprisonment, and First Assistant District Attorney Ricky Babin said Miller would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Babin said the plea was accepted because of an “irreversible medical condition that gives Miller less than year to live.” Babin said Miller used a wheelchair because he was paralyzed from a gunshot wound inflicted at the time of his arrest. Babin also said Miller was afflicted with osteomyelitis of his pelvis.

Aftermath

Miller was left paralyzed from the waist down with buckshot wounds to the back, right hand and face, and later was described as remaining paralyzed from the waist down. Medical accounts also referred to a .45-caliber slug lodged in his lower back after the shed incident.

Kathy Jackson, Vaniaro Jackson’s mother, said: “Whether it happened in the streets or in the church house, it happened, and we can't change that.” William Jackson, her husband, added: “it puts a big question in your head.”

Other details

Victims and addresses included:

• Mildred Vessel, 53
• Carla Vessel Miller, 25
• Shon Miller Jr., 2
• Vaniaro Jackson, 19; listed address: 38557 Arrowhead St., Gonzales
• Kinsey Jackson, 17
• Donald Rideau, 16; listed address: 40072 Germany Road., Gonzales
• Rebecca Delpit, 37; listed address: 12033 Roddy Road, Gonzales
• Alesha Harvey, 14; listed address: 41444 Victoria Ave., Gonzales

Miller’s charging information included four counts of first-degree murder and several counts of attempted murder by Gonzales police.

Names of officials and roles included:

• Bill Landry, Gonzales Police Chief
• Jeffrey F. Wiley, Sheriff of Ascension Parish
• Sam Pasqua, Gonzales Police Sgt.
• Alvin Turner, District Judge
• Clarence Stephens, pastor
• Herbert Mulberry, deacon
• Robin O’Bannon, Assistant District Attorney at trial
• Tony Falterman, District Attorney
• Raymond Gautreau, attorney who defended Miller during June 2000 murder trial
• Jerry Romig, hospital spokesman
• Lolitsa Enkadi, congregation member
• Darryl Hambrick, described as a neighbor and schoolmate