In the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho, the life of a promising young athlete was tragically cut short on September 19, 2004. Eric McMillan, a 19-year-old Black male, was a starting cornerback for the University of Idaho Vandals football team, a redshirt freshman with a bright future ahead of him. That evening, his off-campus apartment became the scene of a violent act that would stun the small college town.
McMillan was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the head, with two different weapons. Despite his grave injuries, he managed to seek help from a neighbor who rushed him to Gritman Medical Center. Tragically, after fighting for his life for approximately 11 hours, he succumbed to his injuries.
The motive for this senseless act appeared to stem from an altercation at a local nightclub the night before. The brothers of a man involved in that fight, Matthew R. Wells II, 27, and James J. Wells, 25, of Seattle, decided to retaliate. Though witnesses confirmed McMillan was not involved in the nightclub brawl, the Wells brothers drove around Moscow looking for any athletic-looking Black man to confront. They tragically and wrongly targeted McMillan, forcing their way into his apartment and shooting him when he answered the door.
Witnesses saw two men fleeing the scene in a white BMW, sparking a dramatic high-speed chase that spanned 150 miles across two states. The pursuit ended near Vantage, Washington, where police used a spike strip to stop the vehicle. Matthew and James Wells were arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder. In a turn of events, they later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Both brothers were sentenced to 20 years in prison for their roles in the death of Eric McMillan. A nephew of the Wells brothers, Thomas J. Riggins, was also initially charged in connection with the murder, but the charges against him were ultimately dropped. The tragic death of Eric McMillan, an innocent victim in a dispute he had no part in, left a lasting scar on his family, friends, and the University of Idaho community.
