Authorities say a 22-year-old man from Iowa confessed to killing three women in rural Utah this week, telling investigators the violent crimes “had to be done” so he could steal vehicles and make his way back home.
Ivan W. Miller now faces three counts of aggravated murder following the killings in Wayne County, according to court documents cited by local media. Investigators say Miller had no known connection to any of the victims.
The case began unfolding Wednesday when two women — one in her 30s and another in her 60s — were hiking along the Cockscomb Trail between the towns of Torrey and Teasdale. Prosecutors allege Miller approached the pair and opened fire.
According to charging documents, Miller later told investigators he first shot the younger woman, then fired at the older woman twice. When she was still moving, he reportedly said he “stabbed her multiple times in the heart.”
“Miller admitted he dragged both alleged victims at (the trailhead) to a ditch and laid them next to one another,” prosecutors wrote in the documents.
Investigators say the victims were later discovered by their husbands, who went searching for them after they failed to return from the hike.
The investigation soon expanded when deputies discovered a stolen vehicle nearby that belonged to an elderly woman living in the nearby town of Lyman. Officers went to her home and found the third victim — a woman in her 80s — dead inside.
Authorities say Miller later described to investigators how he targeted her. In an interview with an FBI agent, he allegedly said he spent a night hiding in a shed behind the woman’s home and watched her leave in a Buick LeSabre.
After she returned later that day, prosecutors say Miller entered the home and waited behind a door.
“He entered her home, hid behind a door, and shot her in the head when she returned and was watching television,” the documents state.
“Miller said he cleaned up the scene the best he could, dragged her to the out building and further down into the basement where he ultimately left her,” investigators wrote.
He then drove away in her car but told authorities he soon decided he wanted a different vehicle.
“Miller said he grabbed his stuff and took the car, but he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle,” prosecutors wrote in the documents.
Authorities say that decision led him to the hiking trail, where the two other women were later killed.
Investigators allege Miller stole credit cards belonging to the victims and used one of them to purchase gasoline while traveling across state lines.
“Miller said he did it because he needed money. Miller said that he took their credit cards and used the older woman’s card to buy gas. Miller said that his intent was to get back to Iowa,” prosecutors wrote.
“Miller confessed that it ‘had to be done’ but he did not like to do it,” the documents said.
Law enforcement agencies across several states worked together to track the suspect. Using license plate readers and other tracking systems, investigators followed the stolen Subaru across Utah, into Arizona, and eventually to Colorado.
The vehicle was first spotted in Bicknell, Utah, around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday before later appearing in Farmington, New Mexico, that evening.
Authorities in Colorado were alerted shortly afterward, and early Thursday morning the vehicle was located abandoned in Pagosa Springs.
Officers searching the area soon located Miller.
“Upon a frisk of Miller, he was found in possession of a concealed handgun and large knife. Miller was arrested for possession of concealed weapons. A subsequent interview linked Miller to the deaths in Utah,” Pagosa Springs Police said.
Investigators say bank cards belonging to all three victims were found inside Miller’s wallet at the time of his arrest.
Court records also show the suspect had recently faced other criminal charges in Utah, including theft, burglary, marijuana possession, and illegally carrying a firearm.
In that earlier case, authorities said Miller had broken into a state park cabin in Davis County after picking the lock.
A park ranger who responded discovered a cache of weapons inside.
Investigators reported finding “a fully loaded 7.62 x 54 bolt-action rifle with bayonet and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with scope and bipod, along with several loaded magazines and extra ammunition in boxes and loose ammunition in a bag,” according to court documents.
Miller remains jailed in Colorado while officials prepare to extradite him to Utah, where he is expected to face prosecution in the triple homicide case.
Authorities have not yet publicly released the names of the three victims.
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