In the fall of 1992, a tragedy unfolded in the small village of Watkins Glen, New York, forever marking the community. On an otherwise ordinary Thursday morning in October, Nancy J. Wheeler, a 48-year-old resident of the neighboring Montour Falls, was at her job as a senior account clerk in the Schuyler County Support Collections Unit. Her day, and her life, were cut short in an act of violence that stunned the quiet county.
That morning, a 50-year-old man from North Ridgeville, Ohio,
named John T. Miller, entered the county office building. Distraught over child support payments and with a history of non-compliance, Miller was no stranger to the office. The day before, he had visited the unit and spoken with one of the employees. On this day, however, he returned with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol.
Just before 10 a.m., Miller began shooting, targeting the female workers in the support collections office. In a matter of moments, he had shot and killed four women. Among the victims was Nancy Wheeler, along with her colleagues Florence A. Pike, 60, who was the unit's supervisor; Phyllis Caslin, 54, an investigator; and Denise M. Van Amburg, 28, a part-time accounts clerk.
Law enforcement officers, whose department was in the same complex, responded to the sound of gunfire. They confronted Miller on a second-floor stairwell. For a tense period, a deputy engaged in conversation with the gunman, who declared, 'I've hurt everybody I'm going to hurt,' while holding the gun to his own head. Before surrendering, Miller dropped an envelope containing what he said would 'explain everything.' He then took his own life.
The note Miller left behind was described by police as a handwritten suicide note. The act was the culmination of a long and troubled history with the child support system. The community of Watkins Glen was left to mourn the sudden and violent loss of four of its dedicated public servants, including Nancy Wheeler. The perpetrator of the killings was the sole suspect, and with his suicide at the scene, there were no arrests to be made, leaving the community to grapple with the senselessness of the tragedy.
