Daphene Mills, aged 16, was tragically killed on February 27, 1980, in Berkeley, California. She was the daughter of Al and Jeannie Mills, who were also known as Elmer and Deanna Mertle. The Mills family had previously been members of the Peoples Temple, a religious cult led by Jim Jones. They defected from the cult in 1975 and became outspoken critics, founding the Human Freedom Center in Berkeley to support other defectors.
On the night of February 26, 1980, Daphene and her parents were shot in their home on Woolsey Street. All three were shot in the head with a .22-caliber weapon. Daphene was found alive but succumbed to her injuries two days later in the hospital.
The case remained unsolved for many years, with initial suspicions falling on the Peoples Temple due to the Mills family's defection and subsequent criticism of the cult. However, investigators eventually focused on Edward Michael Mills, Daphene's older brother, who was 17 at the time of the murders. Despite finding gunshot residue on his hand, he was not arrested initially. The case was reopened in 2003, and new investigative methods and technology led to Edward's arrest in 2005. He was detained at San Francisco International Airport and charged with three counts of murder. Edward has consistently denied any involvement in the killings, and the motive for the murders remains unclear.
The tragic deaths of Daphene and her parents drew significant media attention, particularly due to their connection to the Peoples Temple and the Jonestown Massacre, where over 900 people died in a mass murder-suicide orchestrated by Jim Jones in 1978. The Mills family's murders highlighted the ongoing dangers faced by defectors from the cult and the complex web of fear and retribution that surrounded former members. Despite the arrest of Edward Mills, the case remains a poignant reminder of the dark legacy of the Peoples Temple and the unresolved questions surrounding the Mills family's tragic end.
