They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened.
Near the red rock solitude of Capitol Reef National Park, three women on a hiking trip — Margaret Oldroyd, 86, Linda Dewey, 65, and her niece Natalie Graves, 34 — were killed in what prosecutors describe as a calculated series of acts by a 22-year-old Iowa man who claimed he needed their vehicles and money to make a court appearance back home. Ivan Miller, already carrying the weight of prior charges he had failed to answer, now faces three counts of aggravated murder in Utah — a reckoning that began with a crashed tow truck and ended with families left searching for words to hold an incomprehensible loss. The case moves slowly through the machinery of extradition and law, while the question of why lingers far beyond what any courtroom can fully answer.
- Three women killed in what prosecutors call a methodical spree — shot, stabbed, and robbed for a car and a credit card to fund a fugitive's journey home.
- Miller had already failed to appear on Iowa burglary and weapons charges before driving to Utah, suggesting a man already in flight from accountability before the violence began.
- License plate readers and vehicle tracking systems stitched together his path across three states, leading to his arrest in Colorado where he was found armed with a knife and a .45 caliber pistol.
- His defense attorney has vowed to fight extradition to Utah at every step, even as prosecutors say Miller confessed in detail and declared the killings 'had to be done.'
- Two husbands are left trying to comprehend why their wives, bonding over a hike in a place they loved, never came home — a grief that no legal proceeding can fully address.
Ivan Miller appeared in a Colorado courtroom on a Friday morning in shackles and a yellow jumpsuit, saying little. The 22-year-old from Blakesburg, Iowa, had been arrested the day before in Pagosa Springs. But the charges that would define his life were coming from Utah.
Three days earlier, near Capitol Reef National Park, Miller had allegedly shot and killed three women. Margaret Oldroyd, 86, was killed in her own home — shot in the back of the head as she watched television — after Miller had been sleeping in a shed on her property. He took her car but decided he wanted something different. At a nearby trailhead, he encountered Linda Dewey, 65, and her niece Natalie Graves, 34, returning from a hike. He shot Graves in the chest and, when Dewey kept moving after being shot twice, stabbed her repeatedly. He took their Subaru and their credit cards. Prosecutors say he told investigators the killings 'had to be done' — that he needed vehicles and money to return to Iowa for a court appearance on burglary charges.
Miller's path unraveled quickly. License plate readers tracked him from Utah through Arizona and into Colorado, where he abandoned the stolen Subaru and was found carrying a knife and a loaded pistol. Colorado charged him with theft and weapons violations, but Utah's three counts of aggravated murder loomed far larger.
In court, his public defender made clear the fight was not over: extradition would be contested at every stage. Yet prosecutors maintained Miller had already given them a detailed account of his actions and his reasoning.
The neighbors and families left behind struggled to find language for what had happened. Oldroyd's neighbor called her the sweetest woman you'd ever meet. The husbands of Dewey and Graves released a statement saying their wives had been bonding over the beauty of one of their favorite places on earth. 'They were murdered,' they wrote. 'We cannot comprehend why this happened.'
Before the killings, Miller had been due in an Iowa courtroom — on the very same Friday he appeared in Colorado — to answer for charges including burglary and illegal possession of firearms. He had been released on his own recognizance after a ranger found him inside a locked cabin with two loaded rifles. He promised to appear. He didn't. His next court date is now April 10, and the charges he faces are of an entirely different magnitude.
Ivan Miller sat in a Colorado courtroom on Friday morning wearing a yellow jumpsuit and shackles, speaking only when the judge asked him to state his name. The 22-year-old from Blakesburg, Iowa, had been arrested the day before in Pagosa Springs, and he was there for his initial appearance on charges that would reshape the rest of his life. But the real reckoning was coming from Utah.
Three days earlier, on a Wednesday afternoon near Capitol Reef National Park—three hours south of Salt Lake City—Miller had allegedly shot three women. Margaret Oldroyd was 86 years old. Linda Dewey was 65. Natalie Graves, Dewey's niece, was 34. According to investigators, Miller told them he needed their cars and money to get back to Iowa, where he was supposed to appear in court on burglary charges. He confessed to the killings and said they "had to be done."
The sequence of events, as prosecutors laid them out in court documents, reads like a descent into violence. Miller had crashed his tow truck into an elk somewhere in Utah and sold the damaged vehicle. Stranded, he spent a few nights in hotels before sleeping in a shed on Oldroyd's property in Lyman. One evening, as she sat watching television, he shot her in the back of the head. He took her Buick but decided he didn't like it. He was looking for something else.
At a trailhead near the national park, he found Dewey and Graves getting out of a white Subaru. He approached them and shot Graves in the chest. When Dewey kept moving after being shot twice, prosecutors said, he stabbed her multiple times in the heart. He took their car, their credit cards, and used Dewey's card to buy gas as he drove north. When the women didn't return home, their husbands called the police.
License plate readers and vehicle tracking systems followed Miller's path from Utah through northern Arizona and into Colorado. He abandoned the stolen Subaru in Pagosa Springs and was found carrying a knife and a .45 caliber pistol. Colorado charged him with aggravated motor vehicle theft and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. But those charges were secondary. Utah was charging him with three counts of aggravated murder.
In the courtroom on Friday, Miller's attorney, Colorado public defender Scott Van Zandt, made clear his client would not go quietly. "We will not be waiving extradition here and we will be fighting this every step of the way," Van Zandt said. He also told the judge that Miller did not wish to speak to law enforcement or the press. Yet prosecutors in Utah claimed Miller had already given them an extended account of what he'd done and why.
Judge Anthony Edwards set Miller's cash bond at $20,000, but it hardly mattered. Even if he posted it, he would remain in custody because of the Utah charges. Prosecutors had argued he was an extreme danger to the public and a flight risk. The evidence seemed to support them.
Randy Jones, Oldroyd's next-door neighbor, told reporters she was "the sweetest woman you'd ever meet." Dewey and Graves' husbands released a statement saying they were "dealing with the shock of the devastating loss of two members of our family who were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on earth." They added: "They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened."
Before the killings, Miller had been due in an Iowa courtroom on Friday—the same day he appeared in Colorado—to answer for theft, burglary, marijuana possession, and being ineligible to carry a gun. Those charges stemmed from a December incident at Lake Wapello State Park, where a ranger found him inside a locked cabin with a fully loaded bolt-action rifle and a fully loaded AR-10. He told the ranger he'd picked the lock to find somewhere warm. He was released on his own recognizance, promised to appear. He didn't. Instead, he drove to Utah. Now he faces trial on three counts of aggravated murder, with his next court date scheduled for April 10.
Notable Quotes
We will not be waiving extradition here and we will be fighting this every step of the way.— Scott Van Zandt, Miller's attorney
The sweetest woman you'd ever meet.— Randy Jones, Margaret Oldroyd's neighbor, describing the victim
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would someone drive all the way to Utah and kill three strangers just to steal a car?
According to what he told investigators, he was stranded there after crashing his truck into an elk. He needed transportation and money to get back to Iowa for a court appearance. But that's the stated motive. The actual reason—the thing that makes someone do this—is something else entirely.
His lawyer is fighting extradition. Does that actually work? Can you just refuse to go to another state?
Not really. Extradition is almost automatic if the charges are serious enough and the evidence is there. Fighting it usually just delays things. His attorney is making a statement—we're not giving up without a fight—but everyone in that courtroom probably knows how this ends.
He had prior charges pending in Iowa. Burglary, weapons violations. Why was he released?
He was found in a cabin with loaded rifles in December and told the ranger he'd broken in to stay warm. The court let him go on his own recognizance. He promised to show up for his Friday hearing. He never did. Instead, he drove to Utah and killed three women.
The women were hiking. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Worse than that. They were bonding. Dewey and Graves were aunt and niece, enjoying one of their favorite places. Their husbands were waiting for them to come home. That's what makes this so senseless—there's no reason, no logic, no explanation that makes sense of it.
How did they catch him so quickly?
Technology. License plate readers tracked his stolen car from Utah through Arizona and into Colorado. He abandoned it in Pagosa Springs and was found with the knife and the gun. He couldn't outrun the system.
What happens now?
He fights extradition for a while, but he'll end up in Utah facing three counts of aggravated murder. The trial will take months. His attorney will argue whatever he can argue. But the facts are stark: he confessed, he was tracked, he was found with the weapon. The real question is whether he lives or dies.