On a tragic Sunday in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the lives of a father and his daughter were brought to a violent end. Richard Miller, a 51-year-old Caucasian male, was found deceased in his home on Dale Street on September 9, 2018. He was not alone; his 19-year-old daughter, Jocelyn Miller, was also discovered, having met the same fate. The cause of their deaths was determined to be gunshot wounds, and the case was promptly investigated as a double homicide.
The investigation into the deaths
of Richard and Jocelyn Miller led authorities to a man they considered a friend of the family, Karl Hess, a 37-year-old from Appleton. Investigators uncovered that Hess had gone to the Miller residence on September 7, 2018, to discuss a business proposition that had angered him. During the subsequent trial, Hess admitted to killing Richard Miller but put forth a claim of self-defense. He testified that he and Richard were friends and that he had brought a gun with him to their meeting.
Hess's account of the events was that after arriving at the Miller home, he stashed the firearm in a bathroom and briefly went outside. Upon his return, he alleged he could not find the weapon and then heard two gunshots. He claimed to have found Jocelyn deceased in her bed and Richard on the couch with the gun at his feet, prompting him to then shoot and kill Richard. However, the jury did not find his story credible. They deliberated and returned a guilty verdict on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. For his crimes, Karl Hess was sentenced to two life sentences.
