1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,720 Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences. 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:36,560 Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark Covey and this is Mountain State Mysteries. 3 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:55,760 The case I have for you today is one that theoretically happened in my backyard. A case 4 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:01,280 that has always made me wonder who would kill a teacher the day before her wedding. This is the 5 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:11,280 case of Cynthia Jane Miller. August 27th 1981 started out as a normal day for Cynthia. She was 6 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,720 decorating her room at Park Middle School. She was just getting ready for the new school year. 7 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:23,760 She had a hard few years behind her and she was really looking forward to a new start. In 1979 8 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:31,600 she made the hard decision to divorce her husband Michael Cole. I mean at 27 she became a school 9 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:38,480 teacher who had completed her bachelor's degree in education and had a master's degree in math 10 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:46,720 from Concord College. After her divorce Cynthia purchased a home at 103 Miller Street in Beckley. 11 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:51,760 The home is about five minutes away from Park Middle School. She rented out the basement as an 12 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:58,480 apartment for an additional income to a woman named Terry Boland. Cynthia also sold Avon for 13 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:06,320 another income. Cynthia met Gary O'Neill who was a city policeman in the nearby town of Lester West 14 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:13,680 Virginia. Gary moved in with Cynthia by the summer of 1981. The two decided to get married and to 15 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:19,920 save the confusion from explaining the name change to her students in the middle of the school year. 16 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:26,160 Cynthia wanted to get married before school even started. The two decided to hold a small ceremony 17 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:36,160 on August 28th 1981. Sadly Cynthia never got to make it to her wedding. Like I said August 27th 18 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:43,200 was a normal day for Cynthia so let's deep dive into her day. She spent the first part of the day 19 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:48,560 decorating her new room at Park Middle School. She left the school around noon for a doctor's 20 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:54,320 appointment and then she went home. She stayed there until 4 p.m. She left for a little bit to 21 00:02:54,320 --> 00:03:00,880 go visit her dad at Montgomery wards in Beckley. After his shift he actually stopped by her house 22 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:08,880 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 23 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,560 arrived at the house while Cynthia worked on some Avon orders. They were excited about their wedding 24 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:21,040 happening the next day. Gary decided to go visit some family in Princeton West Virginia which is 25 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:26,800 about a 45 minute drive from Miller Street. He left the home around 8 p.m. and said he would 26 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:35,920 return around 11 30 p.m. Their downstairs tenant Terry Bolin arrived home at 8 30 p.m. She had some 27 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:42,480 trouble opening the door so she asked Cynthia for help so she went down and helped and then she went 28 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:49,360 back upstairs. That's the last time anyone would see Cynthia Miller alive. Terry Bolin went to bed 29 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:55,840 around 9 p.m. She heard Cynthia walking down the steps to their shared laundry room then she heard 30 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:02,800 her walk back upstairs. After this Cynthia called the regional Avon manager to let them know about 31 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:08,880 some issues on her orders. Cynthia remained on the phone with her regional manager for about 20 32 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:16,640 minutes 10 minutes later around 9 30 p.m. Gary tried to call Cynthia to let her know that he would 33 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:22,800 be back later than expected. The phone rang but Cynthia didn't pick it up. He finally left to go 34 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:31,280 home around 11 p.m. around 12 40 around 12 40 a.m. Gary arrived home. Cynthia's car was in the driveway. 35 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:36,720 He noticed that the front porch light wasn't on which was odd because Cynthia always left the 36 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:42,160 light on if she knew he was coming home so he used the flame from his slider to guide his way up and 37 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:50,240 unlock the front door. That's when he met Cynthia's lifeless body only two feet away laying on the floor. 38 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:58,800 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into the 39 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:05,360 missing persons homicide cases survival stories and the mysteries of the mountain state and beyond. 40 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:12,000 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to follow the show download and rate it on your 41 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:18,800 favorite podcast platform. It helps others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts. 42 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:34,000 Gary noticed that the back of Cynthia's head was soaked in blood. He was in shock but he still 43 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:40,800 managed to call 911 then start CPR on Cynthia. Police arrived not too long after the call 44 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:48,560 and they tried to resuscitate Cynthia but sadly it didn't help. Cynthia was declared dead at the 45 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:55,120 scene. Gary was left distraught and disbelieving what happened. It was discovered that Cynthia had 46 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:02,800 been shot and cops were quick to rule out Gary said Sergeant Morgan Bragg. According to the reports 47 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:09,760 Cynthia had been shot in the head four times with a 25 caliber pistol. Two of the shots were from 48 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:15,600 close range and the other two were shot with the gun being pressed to her head. Blood spatter was 49 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:22,000 found in the home along with Cynthia's own 25 caliber pistol but it was ruled out as the murder 50 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:27,600 weapon. The house in the entire neighborhood was searched but the murder weapon was never found. 51 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:34,400 Police saw no sign of 4th century and no sign of a stroke on inside the house. Nothing was taken 52 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:41,200 and Cynthia's body showed no sign of sexual assault. What was found to be missing was Terry 53 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:46,960 Boland. When she was questioned she said that she returned to the neighborhood around 1am 54 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:52,000 but she decided to leave when she found out what happened to Cynthia. Terry moved out from the 55 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,680 downstairs apartment the next day. She told the Raleigh register quote I didn't live there too 56 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:04,400 long and I wanted my privacy so I made a point to not be too friendly. I don't live there anymore. 57 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:10,480 I moved out today back to my mother's house where it's safe end quote. Terry said that there was an 58 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:17,200 open vent leading from the upstairs down to her apartment and that she could hear normal conversations 59 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:23,040 upstairs. The only sound she heard on the night of the murder was the phone ringing once and 60 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:29,760 Cynthia walking around which actually got me thinking if you could hear all of that how could 61 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:36,800 you not hear the gunshots. So investigators returned to the home and fired several shots at the location 62 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:43,200 where Cynthia was found with a 25 caliber pistol. Officers were also downstairs in the apartment 63 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:48,400 and they said the shots were very loud in the apartment so loud that Terry probably would have 64 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:56,000 heard them even if she was asleep. According to Terry she never saw or heard anything that night 65 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:01,120 although police were skeptical they never saw her more as a person of interest. 66 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:09,520 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into 67 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:16,240 the missing persons, homicide cases, survival stories, and the mysteries of the mountain state and beyond. 68 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:23,280 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to follow the show, download, and rate it 69 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:30,240 on your favorite podcast platform. It helps others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts. 70 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:44,800 Cynthia's body was removed from the crime scene and taken to Raleigh General Hospital for an autopsy. 71 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:50,800 The following day her body was taken to the state medical examiner in Charleston, West Virginia. 72 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:58,320 Both the Raleigh County and state medical examiner said that Cynthia was shot at approximately 9.30 73 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:04,480 p.m. and likely died from her wounds within an hour and a half which if you remember 74 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:11,840 Terry was in the house at the time but she heard nothing which in all honesty I find it to be a 75 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:18,240 little off because Cynthia's next door neighbor Barry Webb reported hearing what he thought was 76 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:24,960 four firecrackers around the time police thought the murder took place. However Terry who lived in 77 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:33,280 the basement who could hear the phone ringing heard nothing this makes no sense to me. Webb said 78 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:39,120 that he had a clear view of Cynthia's home and he looked outside to see if he could see what the 79 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:46,560 noise was but he saw nothing. He did tell police that he heard the shots three were loud and that 80 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:52,720 one was muffled. Over the next few months investigators spent time conducting interviews 81 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:59,760 of anyone who had any connection with the case. They created a huge file that that sadly didn't 82 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:06,800 contain a single clue that could help them solve the case. Cynthia Jane Miller was laid to rest 83 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:15,200 at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens on Monday August 30th 1981 the same day the new school year started. 84 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:22,480 Typically this is where we'd end on an episode but Cynthia's case doesn't end just yet. Her case 85 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:31,680 dragged on for months turning into years then it sadly went cold. In April of 1982 Chief Police 86 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:39,920 Thomas Durrett contacted the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. 87 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:46,320 He requested a psychological profile in the case of Cynthia Miller officials from the BSU 88 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:52,560 responded within a few months but what they sent was more disturbing than helpful. They emphasized 89 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:58,880 that they lacked enough information to complete a full profile but they did offer these five 90 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:04,640 psychological theories concerning the case of Cynthia Miller. One, the victim knew her killer 91 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:10,960 very well. Two, the victim had recently rejected her killer. Three, the number of gunshot wounds to 92 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:18,480 the victim's head is a sign of overkill as well as an anger on part of the perpetrator. Four, it's 93 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:25,920 very likely in a case like this the perpetrator had already been interviewed by police and appeared 94 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:33,120 to be extremely cooperative. Five, the perpetrator would appear to be distraught over the victim's 95 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:39,200 death. This was not merely a role while he hated the victim at the time of the murder. 96 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,760 He also loved her very much. 97 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:49,600 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries, West Virginia's true crime podcast that digs into 98 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:55,600 the missing persons, homicide cases, survival stories, and the mysteries of the Mountain State 99 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:02,480 and beyond. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to follow the show, download 100 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:10,800 and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. It helps others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts. 101 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:26,720 In 2019, Crime Stoppers of West Virginia announced that they were forming a new multi-agency 102 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:32,400 task force and Cynthia's murder would be the first case they would focus on. They offered 103 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:40,640 a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the resolution of her case. On May 8th, 2019, 104 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:46,400 the Beckley Police Department announced they had reviewed new information which could lead to a 105 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:53,360 break. 36 year old cold case, Sergeant Morgan Brad, Sergeant Morgan Bragg stated, quote, 106 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:59,040 the information they received reinforced an original theory that there may have been some 107 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:07,520 relationship between Miller and her assailant, end quote. On October 13th, 2020, the Raleigh County 108 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:13,360 Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced that a man was indicted for the murder of Cynthia Jane 109 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:21,600 Miller. Earl James Robbins was charged with the August 1981 murder of Cynthia Jane Miller. Robbins 110 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:29,040 was actually indicted by the same grand jury in October of 2020 for the abduction, kidnapping, 111 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:36,640 and sexual assault of a 13 year old girl in Beckley in 1980. For my research, I haven't been able to 112 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:43,200 find out these cases were related in any way. Robbins pleaded not guilty to the five count 113 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:50,800 indictment in a federal civil suit filed by no one other than himself against former Raleigh County 114 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:58,320 Prosecuting Attorney, Kristen Keller. Robbins made a number of complaints at emissions in the case, 115 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:04,240 including a detailed account of the day Cynthia was murdered, how he learned about it, and his 116 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:10,000 cooperation with the police in the days following her murder. On the day Cynthia was murdered, 117 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:16,320 Robbins said her fiance, Gary, had came to his house over an unpaid parking ticket. And just 118 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:22,960 moments later, he said he was walking outside and happened to be at Gary's house on Miller Street 119 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:29,840 talking to a woman. In the complaint, he said, I never asked who she was. There was no reason to 120 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:37,920 do so. I said, I'll take care of the ticket. No animosity, no bad words between me and him. 121 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:44,480 Robbins said that he learned about the murder from a friend, Gene Jackson, the following morning, 122 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:50,800 while walking down smooth Ave, which is just seconds away from Miller Street. A week later, 123 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:57,680 Robbins claimed he was confronted by police over the unpaid parking ticket and later, the murder. 124 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:04,320 He said that he was asked to do a polygraph, which he did. He said he just assumed it was over. 125 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:10,880 He said later that he was informed by his son through letter that he and one other person 126 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:18,720 knew who killed Cynthia. But in a mysterious turn of events, his son died in 2017 before he could 127 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:24,800 tell him. In his complaint, he sought relief from federal court in the form of those bringing 128 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:32,960 charges to be arrested and pay $15 million to the petitioner and his children. Since the filings, 129 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:39,920 since the filings, Robin has sent the U.S. Southern District Court additional documents asking the 130 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:49,280 court to pay his $400 filing fee and claiming that prison guards stole $660 from his stimulus payment. 131 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:56,400 Attorney G. Todd Hugg has since been assigned to the case. He filed a motion for discovery 132 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:03,440 on May 20, 2021. So I know you're probably asking yourself, how did all of this happen 133 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:10,240 in a 40-year-old cold case? Well, authorities say details cannot be released yet as they prepare 134 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:16,320 for the trial. Bragg said, quote, this took a lot of reaching out. Obviously, you know our 135 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:23,920 suspect is in California and he's moved a lot. We had to follow that trail, end quote. An extradition 136 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:30,960 hearing will be held at a later date in California before Robbins can be brought back to West Virginia. 137 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:38,320 As of 2024, Robbins has only been indicted on the murder charges of Cynthia Jane Miller. 138 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:44,160 The second more updates become available, you know will be in your feed bringing you those updates. 139 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:51,600 We'll be back next week with a brand new case. If you find yourself enjoying Mount State Mysteries, 140 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:58,080 take a second to follow, rate, and download the show on your favorite podcast platform. It helps 141 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:04,720 others find good West Virginia true crime podcasts. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, 142 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:12,000 Facebook, and TikTok, all at Mount State Mysteries. For the show notes, check out our website, 143 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:29,920 MountStateMysteriesPodcast.com.