Marita Choquette, a 27-year-old female, was an editorial assistant at WKAR-TV in East Lansing, Michigan. On June 15, 1978, she disappeared. Her mutilated body was discovered nearly two weeks later, on June 27, 1978, by a farmer in Alaiedon Township. She had been stabbed 17 times, and her hands had been severed. Her body was found positioned as if she had fallen backward from her knees and was covered by cement blocks.
The man responsible for Marita's death was Don Gene Miller, who became
known as the East Lansing Serial Killer. Miller, who knew Marita from her time working at the Michigan State University library, confessed to killing her after taking her to breakfast. He claimed he had to sever her hands because he could not unlock the handcuffs he had placed on her wrists. Miller was apprehended on August 16, 1978, after he raped and attempted to murder a 14-year-old girl and her 13-year-old brother.
As part of a plea agreement for other murders, Miller confessed to killing Marita Choquette. He also led authorities to the bodies of his other victims. In exchange for his confessions and for revealing the locations of the bodies, the second-degree murder charges against him were reduced to manslaughter. In 1979, Miller pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter for the deaths of Marita and three other women. He was also convicted of rape and attempted murder for the attack on the two teenagers and received a lengthy prison sentence. He has since been denied parole.
