A woman is found stabbed and strangled in her apartment
In September of 1992, in the quiet city of Bremerton, Washington, a gruesome discovery marked the beginning of a decades-long quest for justice. Marilyn Hickey, a 57-year-old woman, was found deceased in her studio apartment on Chester Avenue on September 10th. Authorities made the discovery during a welfare check requested by friends who were concerned for her safety. Inside, they found a grim scene; the telephone line had been ripped from the wall, and it was apparent that Hickey had been the victim of a violent attack. An autopsy later revealed that she had been strangled to death.
The initial investigation into Marilyn Hickey's death uncovered some early leads. Witnesses reported seeing her leave the Drift Inn Tavern two nights prior with a man in his twenties. A cab driver confirmed that he had driven Hickey and a man to her apartment that night. Detectives collected evidence from the scene, including the DNA of a potential male suspect. However, the technological limitations of the time prevented the development of a full DNA profile, and despite their efforts, the case eventually went cold, leaving Hickey's family with no answers.
Years turned into over a decade without any significant breaks in the case. Then, in 2006, a renewed effort brought a glimmer of hope. Evidence from the crime scene was sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, and this time, forensic technology was advanced enough to generate a full DNA profile of the unknown male. The profile was entered into the national DNA database, and while it didn't match any known offenders, it did connect to another unsolved homicide—the 1994 murder of Cheryle Barratt in Boise, Idaho. This crucial link reignited the investigation and set detectives on a new path.
The connection between the two cold cases led investigators to re-examine old files, and a name that appeared in both investigations came to the forefront: Lee Robert Miller. Miller had been mentioned in an anonymous tip to Bremerton police in 1992, but it had not been substantially followed up on at the time. With this renewed focus, detectives from Bremerton and Boise began to collaborate, and Miller became their prime suspect. To confirm their suspicions, investigators in Boise began surveilling Miller and were able to covertly collect his DNA from a discarded cigarette butt. The sample was a match to the DNA found at both murder scenes.
In January 2019, more than 26 years after Marilyn Hickey's death, an arrest was finally made. Lee Robert Miller, then 54, was taken into custody in Boise, Idaho, and charged with the second-degree murder of Marilyn Hickey. He later pleaded guilty to the charge. The arrest brought a long-awaited sense of closure to Hickey's family, who had spent decades waiting for justice for their loved one.
