Family of murdered woman hopes billboard will lead to clue

GILFORD – The daughter of slain Roberta "Bobbie" Miller said yesterday that the N.H. State Police have not declared her mother's murder a cold case. Miller was shot to death along with her dog on October 31, 2010 in her home on Country Club Road.

Jennifer Miller, a California resident, said she thinks police have had a number of challenges in their investigation and the case has been reassigned a number of times to different officers within the N.H. State Police Homicide Division.

Recently, Jennifer's grandmother put a billboard on Route 104 in Meredith, reminding drivers of the murder and the $53,000 reward for information that leads to and arrest and conviction.

"For me it's like being in a mystery book where it's really not real," she said yesterday.

Bobbie Miller and her dog were found shot to death at the 123 Country Club Road home that she purchased in August of 2010 after her divorce from her husband Gary Miller was finalized.

According to probate records, Miller's death certificate says she died within seconds of a shotgun blast to the head and neck that left perforations to her skull, brain, carotid artery and lungs. It lists her date of death as October 31. Miller's dog Scout was also shot to death, both were found in the kitchen.

"I've always felt that because it was Halloween people wouldn't have paid any attention to a person dressed in black carrying a gun," she said.

Jennifer said yesterday that her parents had had an acrimonious divorce and that she felt the police spent a lot of time focused on her father in the beginning of the investigation. Although Gary Miller has never been interviewed by this newspaper, Jennifer said yesterday that her father was and still is very distraught about her mother's murder.

Miller said she has had many hypotheses about why her mother was killed but said the only thing she knows for sure is that there was $26,000 in the house that wasn't taken. She also said that in her opinion and considering the pieces of wood and beams that were taken from the home as evidence, the person who shot her mother was standing in the living room doorway facing the kitchen, which is toward the back of the house. She said the two were separate rooms but there was a wide opening between them..

"I think the person came in the front door," Jennifer said, adding that her mother always used the side door that led directly into the kitchen. She also said Scout was a barker and that she thinks he was shot first and that her mother was shot second when she came from her office to investigate. She said her mother used the last bedroom down a short hall from the kitchen as her office.

"She was taking online classes," Jennifer said. "I know she had a paper due that night and that she had procrastinated in getting it done."

She also said the paper was never submitted.

When asked if she thought the person came to the home to rob her mother but found her home, Jennifer said it was possible but that her mother's car was in the driveway and, if it was night time, there would have been at least one light on in her office.

"And," she said, "Nothing was taken."

Jennifer also said that she has since learned that her father's camp in Maine that burned down just before her mother was murdered was arson.

"There was gasoline poured around it," she said.

"My leading theory is it was someone trying to get back at my parents for something or my Mom learned who burned down the cabin," Jennifer said. "Her attorney told me she was afraid of something."

She also said she and her brother have letters from her telling them what to do if she died.

She said her family tried to get the FBI involved in the investigation because the arson and the murder occurred in different states but was unsuccessful. She said a retired FBI investigator came to New Hampshire at some point to assist the N.H. State Police.

She added that it is frustrating to the family to not be able to look at the police files.

Jennifer said she appreciates the billboard and hopes that this time, people who were afraid or reluctant to talk to police before now will come forward with information.

"We're trying to get more clues for the police," she said. "At this point, I think they're just stumped."