Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark Covey and this is Mountain State Mysteries.
The case I have for you today is one that theoretically happened in my backyard. A case
that has always made me wonder who would kill a teacher the day before her wedding. This is the
case of Cynthia Jane Miller. August 27th 1981 started out as a normal day for Cynthia. She was
decorating her room at Park Middle School. She was just getting ready for the new school year.
She had a hard few years behind her and she was really looking forward to a new start. In 1979
she made the hard decision to divorce her husband Michael Cole. I mean at 27 she became a school
teacher who had completed her bachelor's degree in education and had a master's degree in math
from Concord College. After her divorce Cynthia purchased a home at 103 Miller Street in Beckley.
The home is about five minutes away from Park Middle School. She rented out the basement as an
apartment for an additional income to a woman named Terry Boland. Cynthia also sold Avon for
another income. Cynthia met Gary O'Neill who was a city policeman in the nearby town of Lester West
Virginia. Gary moved in with Cynthia by the summer of 1981. The two decided to get married and to
save the confusion from explaining the name change to her students in the middle of the school year.
Cynthia wanted to get married before school even started. The two decided to hold a small ceremony
on August 28th 1981. Sadly Cynthia never got to make it to her wedding. Like I said August 27th
was a normal day for Cynthia so let's deep dive into her day. She spent the first part of the day
decorating her new room at Park Middle School. She left the school around noon for a doctor's
appointment and then she went home. She stayed there until 4 p.m. She left for a little bit to
go visit her dad at Montgomery wards in Beckley. After his shift he actually stopped by her house
to make a few repairs to a garage door. He stayed at her home until 6 p.m. At 7 p.m. Gary O'Neill
arrived at the house while Cynthia worked on some Avon orders. They were excited about their wedding
happening the next day. Gary decided to go visit some family in Princeton West Virginia which is
about a 45 minute drive from Miller Street. He left the home around 8 p.m. and said he would
return around 11 30 p.m. Their downstairs tenant Terry Bolin arrived home at 8 30 p.m. She had some
trouble opening the door so she asked Cynthia for help so she went down and helped and then she went
back upstairs. That's the last time anyone would see Cynthia Miller alive. Terry Bolin went to bed
around 9 p.m. She heard Cynthia walking down the steps to their shared laundry room then she heard
her walk back upstairs. After this Cynthia called the regional Avon manager to let them know about
some issues on her orders. Cynthia remained on the phone with her regional manager for about 20
minutes 10 minutes later around 9 30 p.m. Gary tried to call Cynthia to let her know that he would
be back later than expected. The phone rang but Cynthia didn't pick it up. He finally left to go
home around 11 p.m. around 12 40 around 12 40 a.m. Gary arrived home. Cynthia's car was in the driveway.
He noticed that the front porch light wasn't on which was odd because Cynthia always left the
light on if she knew he was coming home so he used the flame from his slider to guide his way up and
unlock the front door. That's when he met Cynthia's lifeless body only two feet away laying on the floor.
You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into the
missing persons homicide cases survival stories and the mysteries of the mountain state and beyond.
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Gary noticed that the back of Cynthia's head was soaked in blood. He was in shock but he still
managed to call 911 then start CPR on Cynthia. Police arrived not too long after the call
and they tried to resuscitate Cynthia but sadly it didn't help. Cynthia was declared dead at the
scene. Gary was left distraught and disbelieving what happened. It was discovered that Cynthia had
been shot and cops were quick to rule out Gary said Sergeant Morgan Bragg. According to the reports
Cynthia had been shot in the head four times with a 25 caliber pistol. Two of the shots were from
close range and the other two were shot with the gun being pressed to her head. Blood spatter was
found in the home along with Cynthia's own 25 caliber pistol but it was ruled out as the murder
weapon. The house in the entire neighborhood was searched but the murder weapon was never found.
Police saw no sign of 4th century and no sign of a stroke on inside the house. Nothing was taken
and Cynthia's body showed no sign of sexual assault. What was found to be missing was Terry
Boland. When she was questioned she said that she returned to the neighborhood around 1am
but she decided to leave when she found out what happened to Cynthia. Terry moved out from the
downstairs apartment the next day. She told the Raleigh register quote I didn't live there too
long and I wanted my privacy so I made a point to not be too friendly. I don't live there anymore.
I moved out today back to my mother's house where it's safe end quote. Terry said that there was an
open vent leading from the upstairs down to her apartment and that she could hear normal conversations
upstairs. The only sound she heard on the night of the murder was the phone ringing once and
Cynthia walking around which actually got me thinking if you could hear all of that how could
you not hear the gunshots. So investigators returned to the home and fired several shots at the location
where Cynthia was found with a 25 caliber pistol. Officers were also downstairs in the apartment
and they said the shots were very loud in the apartment so loud that Terry probably would have
heard them even if she was asleep. According to Terry she never saw or heard anything that night
although police were skeptical they never saw her more as a person of interest.
You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into
the missing persons, homicide cases, survival stories, and the mysteries of the mountain state and beyond.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to follow the show, download, and rate it
on your favorite podcast platform. It helps others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts.
Cynthia's body was removed from the crime scene and taken to Raleigh General Hospital for an autopsy.
The following day her body was taken to the state medical examiner in Charleston, West Virginia.
Both the Raleigh County and state medical examiner said that Cynthia was shot at approximately 9.30
p.m. and likely died from her wounds within an hour and a half which if you remember
Terry was in the house at the time but she heard nothing which in all honesty I find it to be a
little off because Cynthia's next door neighbor Barry Webb reported hearing what he thought was
four firecrackers around the time police thought the murder took place. However Terry who lived in
the basement who could hear the phone ringing heard nothing this makes no sense to me. Webb said
that he had a clear view of Cynthia's home and he looked outside to see if he could see what the
noise was but he saw nothing. He did tell police that he heard the shots three were loud and that
one was muffled. Over the next few months investigators spent time conducting interviews
of anyone who had any connection with the case. They created a huge file that that sadly didn't
contain a single clue that could help them solve the case. Cynthia Jane Miller was laid to rest
at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens on Monday August 30th 1981 the same day the new school year started.
Typically this is where we'd end on an episode but Cynthia's case doesn't end just yet. Her case
dragged on for months turning into years then it sadly went cold. In April of 1982 Chief Police
Thomas Durrett contacted the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
He requested a psychological profile in the case of Cynthia Miller officials from the BSU
responded within a few months but what they sent was more disturbing than helpful. They emphasized
that they lacked enough information to complete a full profile but they did offer these five
psychological theories concerning the case of Cynthia Miller. One, the victim knew her killer
very well. Two, the victim had recently rejected her killer. Three, the number of gunshot wounds to
the victim's head is a sign of overkill as well as an anger on part of the perpetrator. Four, it's
very likely in a case like this the perpetrator had already been interviewed by police and appeared
to be extremely cooperative. Five, the perpetrator would appear to be distraught over the victim's
death. This was not merely a role while he hated the victim at the time of the murder.
He also loved her very much.
You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries, West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into
the missing persons, homicide cases, survival stories, and the mysteries of the Mountain State
and beyond. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to follow the show, download
and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. It helps others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts.
In 2019, Crime Stoppers of West Virginia announced that they were forming a new multi-agency
task force and Cynthia's murder would be the first case they would focus on. They offered
a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the resolution of her case. On May 8th, 2019,
the Beckley Police Department announced they had reviewed new information which could lead to a
break. 36 year old cold case, Sergeant Morgan Brad, Sergeant Morgan Bragg stated, quote,
the information they received reinforced an original theory that there may have been some
relationship between Miller and her assailant, end quote. On October 13th, 2020, the Raleigh County
Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced that a man was indicted for the murder of Cynthia Jane
Miller. Earl James Robbins was charged with the August 1981 murder of Cynthia Jane Miller. Robbins
was actually indicted by the same grand jury in October of 2020 for the abduction, kidnapping,
and sexual assault of a 13 year old girl in Beckley in 1980. For my research, I haven't been able to
find out these cases were related in any way. Robbins pleaded not guilty to the five count
indictment in a federal civil suit filed by no one other than himself against former Raleigh County
Prosecuting Attorney, Kristen Keller. Robbins made a number of complaints at emissions in the case,
including a detailed account of the day Cynthia was murdered, how he learned about it, and his
cooperation with the police in the days following her murder. On the day Cynthia was murdered,
Robbins said her fiance, Gary, had came to his house over an unpaid parking ticket. And just
moments later, he said he was walking outside and happened to be at Gary's house on Miller Street
talking to a woman. In the complaint, he said, I never asked who she was. There was no reason to
do so. I said, I'll take care of the ticket. No animosity, no bad words between me and him.
Robbins said that he learned about the murder from a friend, Gene Jackson, the following morning,
while walking down smooth Ave, which is just seconds away from Miller Street. A week later,
Robbins claimed he was confronted by police over the unpaid parking ticket and later, the murder.
He said that he was asked to do a polygraph, which he did. He said he just assumed it was over.
He said later that he was informed by his son through letter that he and one other person
knew who killed Cynthia. But in a mysterious turn of events, his son died in 2017 before he could
tell him. In his complaint, he sought relief from federal court in the form of those bringing
charges to be arrested and pay $15 million to the petitioner and his children. Since the filings,
since the filings, Robin has sent the U.S. Southern District Court additional documents asking the
court to pay his $400 filing fee and claiming that prison guards stole $660 from his stimulus payment.
Attorney G. Todd Hugg has since been assigned to the case. He filed a motion for discovery
on May 20, 2021. So I know you're probably asking yourself, how did all of this happen
in a 40-year-old cold case? Well, authorities say details cannot be released yet as they prepare
for the trial. Bragg said, quote, this took a lot of reaching out. Obviously, you know our
suspect is in California and he's moved a lot. We had to follow that trail, end quote. An extradition
hearing will be held at a later date in California before Robbins can be brought back to West Virginia.
As of 2024, Robbins has only been indicted on the murder charges of Cynthia Jane Miller.
The second more updates become available, you know will be in your feed bringing you those updates.
We'll be back next week with a brand new case. If you find yourself enjoying Mount State Mysteries,
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