Trial begins in Abilene over murder of father and son

ABILEN, Texas. Opening statements and testimony began on Tuesday morning in the murder case of a father and son accused of shooting their neighbor after an argument over a box spring.

John Miller and his son Michael Miller stand trial at the Taylor County Courthouse for the September 1, 2018 murder of Aaron Howard in a Don Juan Street alley in Abilene.

The Millers pleaded not guilty in this case.

Neither the prosecution nor the defense objected to the fact that Howard was a man with an “explosive temper”, but both noted that Howard was on medication for his anger issues.

Assistant District Attorney Dan Joyner said Howard had previously threatened an Abilene code enforcement officer and a postal worker.

“We won’t argue, Aaron had a fiery temper, there’s no denying that,” Joyner said.

He then detailed the morning of Howard’s murder, which began with the unloading of a scrap trailer to a shooting in an alley behind a house that Howard shared with several other people.

Howard put the spring box in a trash can in the alley behind their house, and “someone kept cleaning it up.” He put it back in the trash can, then his roommate Justin Campbell and Howard’s girlfriend, Cara Box Montin, and then heard him tell someone to “put it back”.

This led to John Miller producing the gun and a controversy ensuing.

The police were called to the alley.

The first witness called was APD officer Anthony Joeris, who was the first to arrive on the scene after the shooting. Joris described Howard’s condition when he arrived at the alley, saying that part of his skull was missing and his brain was exposed, and said that Howard seemed incoherent.

Joris “didn’t think he [Howard] knew what was going on.”

The next witness was a former APD medical examiner who described the crime scene and positively identified evidence from the scene.

Howard’s ex-girlfriend, Cara Box Montin, testified before the court during the lunch break.

She said she had known Howard since she was a teenager and they briefly dated in 2013. They then became a couple in 2017 when Montin said she was coming out of a failed marriage that Howard helped her through.

The couple lived on the Ambler with Campbell, his children, and Monteana’s mother before moving into a house on Don Juan.

Montian testified that she started recording the fight between the Millers and Howard because she was afraid something bad was going to happen.

Tarrant County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Tasha Greenburg testified after the break and confirmed that gunshots and shotguns were the cause of Howard’s death.

Greenberg described in detail the trajectory of the bullets that hit Howard in the arm and chest, as well as the head wounds from the shotgun. She confirmed that the wounds to the chest and head were “sufficient to kill”.

Howard’s best friend, whom he often referred to as his “brother”, Justin Campbell, was subpoenaed to give a detailed account of what happened that day in the alley. Campbell said Howard was aggressive, but also very loving, caring and a bit intimidating.

He said that although Howard told him to bring a pistol from the house, this was not possible because the .38 caliber pistol that had previously been in the house had been pawned weeks before.

Campbell said he gave Howard the baseball bat that the Millers said he had threatened them in the alley.

APD det. Frank Shoemaker, who interviewed Johnny Miller on the day of the murder, was the last witness of the day.

In a recorded interview, Johnny Miller told Shoemaker that he found an old “mattress” by his back gate and moved it around more than once. On September 1, 2018, Miller said Howard walked out into the alley “yelling and shouting” about the spring block. Miller told Shoemaker that he asked Howard several times to stop approaching him.

Johnny Miller also told the detective that he told his son Michael to get the shotgun and told Shoemaker in an interview that Michael didn’t shoot. He said that after the first shot he fired, Howard turned and walked up to him and said he would kill him.

According to him, he stopped shooting because his gun jammed.

At one point in the interview, Johnny Miller asked Shoemaker about Howard’s condition. Only later in an interview was he informed that Howard was dead and would be charged with murder.

When asked why he told Michael to get the shotgun, Miller said it was in case Aaron overpowered him. He cited recent cataract surgery and didn’t want to ruin the repair.

“When you’re dealing with this old boy, you’re not just dealing with him without a face-to-face confrontation,” Miller said.

Shoemaker asked him why he didn’t call the police.

“I don’t remember phone numbers and I don’t call 911.”

At this point, Shoemaker informs Miller that Howard is dead.

“Well, I’m sorry he’s dead. I feel sorry for his family. If you think I don’t feel bad about it, you’re wrong,” Miller said.

The trial is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Taylor County Courthouse.