A confession that police say was given by the defendant in the upcoming Rebekah Gould murder trial can be used against him. That was the ruling last week by Circuit Court Judge Tim Weaver, according to a post from NEA Report.
Defense attorneys for William Miller argued that his Miranda rights concerning the option of being provided an attorney should he not be able to afford one were not fully verbalized before the confession.
Weaver ruled this was “cured” due to the fact Miller had told investigators he made about $25,000 per month working on oil rigs and had also previously offered to pay for a relative’s legal expenses, according to George Jared’s NEA Report article.
To read the full article from NEA Report, click here.
Miller of Cottage Grove, Ore., had confessed to attacking and killing Gould, a college student visiting the Guion residence of Casey McCullough in 2004, according to his arrest affidavit. Miller is a cousin of McCullough.
At the time of the murder, Miller was 28 years old. Gould was 22.
Arkansas State Police information on the case unsealed in 2021 said investigators went to Oregon in November 2020, to find Miller, interview him, and if called for, arrest him. (Click here for White River Now’s initial story on Miller’s arrest.)
The probable cause for arrest affidavit said during the course of the interview, it was revealed that on the morning of Sept. 20, 2004, Miller drove to where Gould was staying and concealed his Chevy pickup truck in a field behind the residence.
After knocking on the front door, Miller told investigators Gould let him inside to use the telephone. He pretended to use the phone while Gould went back to her bedroom.
According to the court information, Miller said he then took a leg from a piano located in the living room, went into Gould’s bedroom, and began striking Gould multiple times with the piano leg.
Miller advised he then wrapped her body in a sheet and placed her in the bed of his pickup truck. He next drove on State Highway 9, stopping at the first scenic overlook southwest of Melbourne, and dumped the deceased body, the affidavit said.
Gould’s body was found on Sept. 27, 2004, a week after she went missing.
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