The still-unsolved murder 25 years ago of 18-year-old mom Victoria Rose Miller cast her brokenhearted family adrift.
Vickie had four sisters and a brother, and everything that followed for them “was extremely turbulent,” her sister Alexis Miller, who was 8 years old at the time, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Her death seems to be that defining moment where my memories really began. I have two daughters of my own and I try not to be overprotective. But that shadow of my sister and what happened to her is always present.”
Victoria Rose Miller.Boynton Beach Police Department
From left, Victoria Rose Miller’s sisters Sarah, Kimberly and Alexis Miller.Courtesy Kimberly Miller
For more about Victoria Rose Miller and the search for her killer,subscribe now to PEOPLEor pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.
“Right off the bat I was getting calls,” says Det. Jeff Gleicher. The podcast even brought in tips from retired law enforcement officers. “Sergeants, detectives that were working the case back then, it refreshed their memories,” says Gleicher. “‘Hey, this happened, maybe you should look into that.’ It was definitely beneficial.”
The approach piggybacks on the popularity of true-crime podcasts that began withSerialin 2014, and Boynton Beach is not alone in mining its potential. In 2019 the NYPD launched its podcastBreak in theCasewith the story of an unidentified 4-year-old girl whose body turned up in an abandoned cooler. Newport Beach, Calif., police created the podcast seriesCountdown to Capture, chronicling their search for fugitive Peter Chadwick, wanted after the 2012 death of his wife, Quee Choo.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
While such police podcasts have so far had limited success in cracking cases, they are an effective outreach that beats “the antiquated ‘wanted’ poster,” says Maria Haberfeld, a professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “It’s yet another dissemination mechanism for police departments needing assistance from the public.”
For the family of Victoria Rose Miller, the effort “definitely is hopeful,” says her sister Alexis, now 33. “Everything happened so long ago. To know the case is being looked at again, it feels unreal.”
“Growing up, it was always something negative,” she says. “To know her killer was found, if he was punished, it would be easier for me to celebrate her life.”
source: people.com
