An Alabama father has been charged with the murder of his wife after allegedly admitting to strangling her to death days after making an emotional appeal for help finding her.
Stephen Miller Sr., 64, had filed a missing persons report for his wife of 30 years, Gloria Miller, 57, on February 24.
The same day, he also called WDHN-TV and appeared alongside Gloria's family as they shared a desperate appeal for help finding her, even appearing on camera supposedly making calls to help locate her.
Gloria's brother, Sidney Whitaker, told WDHN before Stephen's arrest: "This is not normal at all. She hangs around the house, she doesn’t venture away from the home, she pretty hangs around the house all the time."
Her family told the station that Gloria rarely left home and would usually go out in her car if she ever did leave, though her vehicle was found still at the house.
Gloria's brother also revealed that she would typically speak to him on the phone every day and he grew concerned when she failed to do so that day.
Dothan Police Department revealed that several indications quickly flagged up that there could be foul play involved as the began their investigation.
Gloria's phone and wallet were found at a mall 5 miles from the home she shared with Stephen, with police claiming he had planted them there before they were handed in by a local business.
Just a day after the appeal, Stephen was arrested and admitted to "manually strangling her until she was lifeless” on February 22, according to a press release from Dothan Police Department.
Gloria's body was recovered on February 25 from a dry creek bed under a bridge near Geneva County, the district just outside of Dothan.
The couple's marriage had previously faced allegations of violence and conflict, with the pair having filed several reports against one another.
In Janaury, Stephen had filed a protection order against Gloria, claiming she pushed him and vowed to "destroy him". He also claimed that she had a history of "mental abuse" and had previously been committed to a mental hospital.
The protection order was dismissed after the Millers agreed to seek counseling and consider medication instead.
Stephen had earlier filed another order the July previously, claiming that Gloria had threatened to kill him, their son, and their son's ex-wife, which he later asked to have dismissed.
The couple's daughter had also sought to file a restraining order against her mother, claiming repeated harassment, and an alleged incident in which she claimed her mother came at her with a knife, but was denied her request.
After Stephen's arrest, Gloria's brother told WDHN: "I didn’t realize that monster was in him."
He says he and the rest of Gloria's extended family had advised her to get a divorce, claiming that she had started to seriously fear for her life in recent months.
Her brother added that he believed Gloria did not leave Stephen because he would have blocked her having access to any of their assets.
Stephen is currently being held on a $1.5 million bond in Houston County Jail.