By Michael R. Moser / mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
For reasons not made public, bad blood developed between a Cumberland County man and one, if not two, of his four daughters. Whatever caused the rift, it spilled over into a fatal shooting by the father of one of the women.
It took only one witness for General Sessions Judge Larry Warner Thursday to rule during a preliminary hearing that there exists enough evidence to forward the case against Wayne Lawson Miller, 67, of 6677 Hwy. 70 E, to action of the grand jury.
Miller is accused of firing a shotgun blast through a door at his home that left his daughter, Rebecca Daigle, 41, dead on a back porch. Another daughter, Anita Miller, was present but was not injured.
During the hearing Tuesday, Sheriff's Lt. Casey Cox was the only witness to testify during the hearing that lasted less than one hour. He described the scene as he found it on Oct. 12, 2009, and read a signed statement the defendant gave the evening of the shooting.
Testimony indicated that the two daughters and the defendant shared a two-story home between Crab Orchard and Crossville, but that the two daughters were in the process of moving out.
In his statement, Miller told Cox and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dan Friel that the night before, he was called by one of the daughters upstairs, and when he reached the second floor, he claims Rebecca pushed him down the stairs.
"I saw stars," Miller told investigators, adding that neither girl came to his aid as he lay there unconscious.
The next morning around 10 a.m. Miller told investigators he saw the women's vehicle turn into his driveway. Anita Miller told investigators the two women had spent the night elsewhere and had returned to retrieve clothing and move out.
Miller in his statement said he went to his bedroom and got a .16-gauge shotgun but had mistakenly picked up shells for a .12-gauge shotgun. He finally located the right shells, loaded the double-barrel shotgun and with his daughters holding the storm door open, knocking on the door and shouting an expletive, he fired both barrels.
"I was looking out the window and I just let it fly," the statement read.
One shot traveled through the door and into Rebecca Daigle's neck, leaving a golfball-size wound, Cox testified. Deputies later obtained a search warrant and found a .16-gauge shotgun lying on the bed.
Defense attorney Randal Boston had a rough drawing of the scene done by Cox entered into evidence and questioned the investigators about what officers were present and whether any of the patrol cars on the scene had video cameras operating.
Neither Boston nor Assistant District Attorney Allison Watson offered arguments at the end of the hearing.
Miller remains free on bond. Grand jury returns will be read on March 15.
