Miller pleads guilty to fraud, other charges still fresh in neighborhood's minds

By Megan Martin
April 9, 2008

On February 21, 2006, five bodies, including two children, were found shot to death in their Mesa home. The early morning 911 calls from neighbors paint a gruesome picture of multiple gunshots and the screams of a woman piercing the night air of a quite community. Inside the house, five lay dead- Steven Duffy, Shane Duffy, Tammy Lovell, Cassandra Lovell, 15, and Jacob Lovell, 10.
The bone-chilling event sent a shock-wave through the community as it attempted to grasp the concept of a whole family being killed.
“It was so surreal,” said Nicole Ortiz, a neighbor who remembers the family. “One day they were all there, the next they weren’t. How does that happen?”
Police arrested William Craig Miller in the weeks following the heinous crime. According to police records, Miller committed the murders in order to eliminate witnesses against him in another crime.
In November of 2005, Miller and Steven Duffy set Miller’s Scottsdale home ablaze, allowing Miller to collect fraudulent insurance claims. According to Sgt. Mark Clark, of Scottsdale Police, this was not the first house Miller had lost to flames, and an investigation ensued. During the investigation, Duffy admitted to helping Miller and gave evidence against him.
Duffy was charged with arson, but he, as well as his live-in girlfriend Tammy Lovell, also became witnesses against Miller. In order to silence their testimony, police believe, Miller entered their Mesa home and eliminated testimony with gun shots.
“Seriosuly?” laughed Ortiz, with a look of disbelief. “Why kill them if you were going to plead guilty? How disgusting.”
Miller agreed to plead guilty to arson and fraud charges Monday morning in a Phoenix court room. He still awaits trial on the 15 counts, including first-degree murder.
“What a slap in the face,” said one Mesa police officer, who preferred to not be named. A member of the SWAT team which swarmed the home on that February morning, he feels he has been affected by the event to an unprofessional level.
“You can’t forget that sight,” said the eight-year veteran. “I still don’t know what to make of it, how to handle it. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day, because this one time was enough.”
Miller, who has been a Maricopa County jail-house resident for two years, is believed to have pled guilty with the purpose of being transferred to state prison, according to Sgt. Clark who cites interview comments made by Miller. During the last two-years Miller has been housed under solitary confinement.
“I guess he couldn’t take the heat,” said the Mesa police officer. “Sitting alone with your thoughts, with nothing to distract you… it will get to you. I hope he enjoys outdoor time in prison.”