Terrence Miller was arrested on April 10, 2019 and charged in the August 23, 1972 rape and murder of 20-year-old Jody Loomis in Edmunds, Washington. Loomis was riding her bike on a dirt road on the way to visit her horse at a local stable. She was abducted, sexually assaulted, and shot in the head. It appears that she was seated and putting her clothes on when she was shot by someone standing behind her.
A DNA profile was obtained from semen found on one of Loomis’ boots. The FGG investigation was conducted by Parabon and Deb Stone. Deb Stone is a forensic genealogist who has worked previously with the Snohomish County to locate next-of-kin. The investigation was narrowed down to the six Miller brothers. Terrence Miller lived a short distance from the dirt road where Loomis was murdered. The initial confirmation was made by the surreptitious sampling of a coffee cup Miller had discarded outside a casino.
A number of local men were suspects in the case over the years, including two men who were collecting firewood in the area and were detained as witnesses in the case. They later provided DNA to clear their names, but this did not happen until a DNA profile was developed in 2008.
Miller has been accused of sexual offences on a number of occasions. He was cited once for lewd conduct in 1968 for exposing himself to a teenage girl. He admitted to molesting a pre-teen girl in the mid-1970s, but documents about this have been lost. In March of 1990, he was again accused of molesting two girls, but they dropped the charges. In 1999, he was accused of sexual abuse by a man with developmental disabilities, but he could not be prosecuted due to a statute of limitations.
Miller was freed on a cash bond while awaiting trial. He committed suicide on November 9, 2020 while the jury was deliberating. The trial judge agreed with prosecutors that the family had the right to hear the jury’s verdict after having waited so many decades, and then sitting through the trial. The jury convicted Miller of Loomis’ murder.
Sources:
Gearty, Robert. “Washington State Man on Trial in 1972 Cold Case Murder Kills Self – Then Jury Finds Him Guilty.” Fox News, November 10, 2020. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://www.foxnews.com/us/washington-state-man-trial-1972-cold-case-murder-kills-self-jury-finds-guilty?fbclid=IwAR1i1wO82O01Ors45A-78ilSBQw0VTzdvYAvfppsVP7S14Z5vC5HRLd2qWU.
Hutton, Caleb. “Bail Raised to $1M in 1972 Murder Case, and Suspect Posts It.” Herald Net, July 18, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/suspect-posts-1-million-bond-in-72-jody-loomis-murder-case/.
Hutton, Caleb. “DNA on a Boot Leads to Arrest in 1972 Murder of Jody Loomis.” Herald Net, April 12, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/dna-strikes-again-edmonds-man-77-arrested-in-1972-killing/.
Lavoice, Olivia. “Snohomish County Family Still Seeking Justice for 1972 Rape and Murder of Jody Loomis.” Q13 Fox News, November 21, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://www.q13fox.com/news/snohomish-county-family-still-seeking-justice-for-1972-rape-and-murder-of-jody-loomis.
Wippel, Teresa. “Documents Provide More Details on Suspect in Cold Case Murder.” Edmonds News, April 11, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2020. https://myedmondsnews.com/2019/04/documents-provide-more-details-on-suspect-in-cold-case-murder/.