TORREY, Wayne County — Linda Dewey and Natalie Graves loved hiking in the hills and cliffs around Wayne County, where some of Utah’s most spectacular scenery can be found.
But on Wednesday, as Dewey, 65, and her niece, Graves, 34, were at the Cockscomb Trailhead near state Route 12, police say their lives were tragically cut short by a man who wanted to take their car.
“Our family is dealing with the shock of the devastating loss of two members of our family who were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on Earth — cherished by them and the community, considered to be a safe sanctuary. They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened,” the families of Dewey and Graves said Friday in a statement.
The families will be posting pictures of their loved ones on Friday at the Cockscomb Trailhead as a memorial, but have otherwise asked for privacy during this difficult time. The discovery of the women’s bodies led police to the body of a third victim, 86-year-old Margaret Oldroyd, in her Lyman, Wayne County, home.
Ivan W. Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa, is charged with killing all three women. Miller is currently being held in a Colorado jail awaiting extradition back to Utah to face three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony.
As investigators from multiple agencies work to retrace Miller’s steps, the families of the victims continue to mourn.
Dewey is remembered as “a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and had many extended family members and friends all over the world. She was loved deeply and loved her family deeply. She was the heart of our family,” the family said.
Graves “was a wife, daughter and sister, adored by her many friends and extended family members. She was joy, sunshine and beauty embodied.
“We need time to mourn, love each other and be with our family and friends. We are at a loss for words that can describe what we are feeling and cannot publicly express our sadness and devastation at this time,” the family said.
Andrew Adams, KSL
Miller was driving his pickup truck when he hit an elk in Loa on Feb. 28. Miller told police after his arrest that he “sold his truck to a tow company and stayed in an area hotel for a few days” following the collision, charging documents state.
Oldroyd’s car was confirmed to be in Loa on Feb. 27, police say. It was not immediately known if the car’s presence in Loa at that time had any connection to Miller ending up at Oldroyd’s residence.
At some point between Feb. 28 and March 4, Miller made his way to Oldroyd’s home in Lyman. How and when he got there remained under investigation Friday. Police say there are no prior connections to Miller or any of his victims.
Miller told police “that he stayed the night in the back shed at (of Oldroyd’s home) after coming to Lyman. Miller advised that he saw a Buick LeSabre at that location and watched the old lady drive away. Miller then entered her home, waited for her behind a door, and shot her in the back of the head with the 1911 (pistol) while she was sitting down watching television,” charging documents allege.
He then dragged Oldroyd’s body to the basement, attempted to clean up the crime scene and took her car. But not long after he began driving, Miller claimed “he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle,” the charges say.
That’s when he spotted Dewey and Graves near the trailhead. Miller says he watched the women get out of their vehicle, “went up to them and shot the younger one in what he thought was the chest and she went down. Miller then shot the other one twice in the body” and then stabbed her multiple times, the charges state.
After the women failed to return home on time, their husbands went looking for them and found their bodies. Police were called and Oldroyd’s vehicle was found nearby. That led to the discovery of her body in her home.
Using license plate readers, police tracked the vehicle stolen from the two hikers and determined it drove through Bicknell, Wayne County, at 10:32 a.m. Wednesday. By 9:13 p.m., it was in Farmington, New Mexico. The vehicle was recorded in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, early Thursday and later found abandoned. After a brief search of the area, Miller was located and arrested without incident.
Wayne County administrators issued a joint statement on behalf of the entire county on Thursday.
“Our community is grieving following the tragic loss of three women,” the county said. “This is an incredibly difficult time for our country and our thoughts are with everyone impacted.”
The county says counselors will be available at Wayne High School on Monday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and all day at the Wayne Community Health Center.
“We encourage community members to support one another during this time and to reach out for help if needed. We live in an amazing community and pull together when times are dire. Please say hello to a neighbor in passing. The smallest gestures can make a big impact.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
