After decades of silence, a man told San Francisco authorities his sister killed four of her infant children between 1965 and 1970, including two when the family lived in Escondido.
Investigators tracked down Cheryl Athene Miller in San Francisco, where she was unemployed and living alone. She confessed to the murders and was arrested Monday, according to a story published yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Miller, 59, seemed ready to unburden herself, Mendocino County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Poma said.
“She told how she did it. She knew what occurred to them in their deaths, and said she was the reason for it,” Poma said. “We believe only her brother knew about it, but other people had suspicions. When you lose four children, you're either very unlucky or you're responsible.”
Miller was arraigned Wednesday on four counts of murder but did not enter a plea in Mendocino County Superior Court, the Chronicle reported. If convicted, she could face a sentence of life in prison without parole.
The alleged murders began in Escondido on Dec. 7, 1965, with the death of Sherry Mae Scott, who was 11 days old, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. A month later, her 14-month-old sister, Carla Marie Scott, died.
Both were deemed natural deaths. The autopsy records show the first was attributed to pneumonia with internal bleeding, while the second, on Jan. 16, 1966, was blamed on pneumonia.
The first death occurred at the Dreamland Motel, Cabin No. 5, on North Broadway in Escondido. The second death was at the home of Miller's parents, Cheryl A. Scott and Jerry Wade Scott, on Pine Street in Escondido. It followed eight days of treatment for pneumonia at San Diego County General Hospital in San Diego.
A spokeswoman for the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said the office was notified Tuesday about Miller's arrest, but she could not confirm if investigations of the deaths have been reopened.
Miller, who has a record of minor offenses, including passing a bad check, marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license, was being held in lieu of $2 million bail and did not have an attorney on record. Her next court hearing is Nov. 17.
Poma declined to describe how or why Miller is suspected of having killed her children. He also declined to identify her brother or to say what might have motivated him to come forward. Poma also indicated that the brother would not be charged with a crime.
Fifteen months after the deaths in Escondido, Miller's 3-month-old son, David, died in Long Beach.
By February 1970, Miller had moved north to Mendocino County where her mother lived. Her 9-month-old daughter, Kimberly, died in Calpella, about 100 miles north of San Francisco.
Investigators were suspicious at the time because Miller told them about the deaths of her other three children, Poma said. She wasn't charged, but county officials removed two other children from her home and she never regained custody.
The two children who survived are now adults and live in California but don't have contact with Miller, Poma said.
Wire services contributed to this report.
