Bruce David Daniels
When I was 29 years old, I was a single mom to two rambunctious, misbehaved, humorous, silly boys. My ex husband left for prison when I was two months pregnant with my youngest to serve a ten year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.
To say I had struggles would be putting it lightly. To say I was depressed, hopeless, and feeling completely undeserving of the two little souls I was given to nurture and teach to become men would be a complete gloss over. But, as much of a douche bag as my ex husband was, he never raised a hand to me, beat me, or raped me. Unfortunately, Rachel Susan Miller was not so lucky.
“Yeah, I wanted to make it work, you know? I loved her. Things just got out of control I guess and she took my kids. I had no idea where she ran off to or why. I provided for her and she took off one night when I came home. Bags packed, said she was leaving and walked out with the kids. I figured she would come back like always but she didn’t. That was around her birthday of that year. I told her as she left I would find her. I told her.”
(Bruce David Daniels, in his police interview after the murder of his ex wife Rachel.)
So many women that are caught up in the cycle of domestic abuse give up. They continue to take abuse doled out to them with the hope that “this will be the last time”. Some, as we all know, even sacrifice their children to the cycle of hate and mistreatment that they themselves have grown accustomed to. All in the name of love. Because, someday, it’s going to get better.
And then there are those few who fight their way out. Leaving behind all that they know, own, and are familiar with. These few brave finally come to the conclusion that it WILL NOT get better. So they run. In hopes that they are able to run long and far enough so as to never cross paths with the demons that have beaten them down.
Rachel Susan Miller went above and beyond getting out. She not only ran, but was able to let her guard down and realize that there are REAL men out there. Real men worthy of her love and the love of her children. A man deserving of her hand in marriage and the promise of a new life to come.
DANIELS: No. I stayed still. I felt bad again so I made love to her again but all this blood was coming from her vagina so I stopped.
WALTERS: Did you know she was pregnant, yes or no?
DANIELS: I thought she was lying.
That’s right, Rachel was six weeks pregnant with a baby boy, the result of her happy marriage to a man she trusted and knew to be nothing like Bruce Daniels. Not only did Rachel have the balls to pick up and leave her ex husband, but she also became active in the fight against Domestic Violence.
One month and 2 days before Bruce David Daniels brutally raped, beat, and stomped her to death, Rachel Susan Miller wrote this advice for other women, which was posted as note on the Facebook page “STOP GIVING WOMEN BEATERS A SLAP ON THE WRIST. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE KILLS.” Click Here to read, in her own words, how passionate she was in the hopes of saving another woman from the hell she had been through.
Rachel Miller found the courage to leave, to start over, to not lay down and die. To not let her son and daughter fall victim to the madman that was their father. On April 16th 2000, Bruce Daniels found his way back into Rachel’s life. Like the lowlife that he is, he had used her social security number, drivers license, and date of birth to track her down via the internet. For two weeks he stalked her, watching her every move, memorizing the times she would be alone. The fact that she had a house alarm that was used religiously did nothing to deter him.
DANIELS: Yeah, under the house, behind the house is a wood deck. The cat that she stole from me ran under there when it saw me so I looked under there for it and behind some piles of dirt was this little window that probably led to the basement. Nobody thinks about them kind of things.
So there Rachel was. At home, watching Friends, happy and secure in the safe environment she was finally able to secure for her children and herself. But all that came crashing down when Bruce Daniels decided to take it away. She heard him coming up through the basement.
Once she saw that it was in fact him, she once again ran. Ran just like she had two years prior from this animal. Only this time, she wasn’t able to run far. He found her upstairs, crouched in a closet, having an asthma attack no doubt brought on by the fact that her nightmares had just become reality.
For the next few hours, Rachel was subjected to nothing short of torture. Beaten, raped, strangled, raped again. It went on for what must have been an eternity for her. And in the background, her new husbands voice on the answering machine letting her know he’d be home late.
DANIELS: She stopped making noises after I hit her a few times, so I stand her up and lean her against the fridge and smashed the back of her head where I hit her with the wrench into the fridge till I got tired. Blood was fucking everywhere man. I was like holy shit, how much blood do people got in them?
Bruce Daniels continue to beat the hell out of Rachel. He attempted to rape her one last time, but apparently the baby that she was losing caused so much blood to pour out of her that he lost interest. Shortly after that, and between a few more beatings, he grabbed a hammer off the counter and struck her so hard in the chest that it broke the metal part off. Grabbing a screwdriver and holding it to her neck as she lay there motionless, he realized rather than stay and kill her husband, maybe it was time to leave. And he did.
Click Here to view the actual interview he gave police, of which there are brief excerpts throughout this story. As horrid as it is, please read it if you are able. Rachel Miller’s story deserves to be told, even if it is through the words of this disgusting creature that ultimately took her life.
At the last minute, Bruce Daniels plead guilty to the murder of Rachel Susan Miller to receive life in prison. He was never formally punished or held accountable for Christopher Miller, the six week old baby that lost his life during the torture and rape of his mother. Please Click Here to read the transcript of the hearing where Bruce Daniels changed his plea to guilty, as I cannot possibly with my own words, do justice to the absolute lack of humanity of this man’s plea of guilty.
So, Bruce Daniels was given a life sentence for the horrendous crimes he committed. His confession held fast that even though, yes, he beat his wife, and yes, he “made love to her”, he was not directly responsible for her death as she was still breathing when he left her. Makes your stomach curl don’t it?
Alas, Rachel’s life ending a few days shy of her 30th birthday was not to be the last act of tragedy for this heroic family. Her son, 12 year old Tyler, committed suicide in 2001. Unable to come to terms with the murder of his mother by his biological father and terrified that he would one day turn out to be the same kind of monster, he took his own life.
I’m far from a religious person, but from the moment I read this story, I have, in my own way, prayed for this family. For the beautiful souls that were taken far too soon, for the daughter left behind, for the husband that was actually worthy of a beautiful and smart woman like Rachel.
As far as Bruce Daniels, well, my thoughts run a much darker path when I think of the atrocities he committed and the lives he stole from the world, much less their family. If there truly is a hell, I would issue this piece of shit a one way ticket, smiling and waving the whole time.
This Story Was Written And Submitted By Katrina, A Long Time Reader Of PYSIH. This is her first story for us, and it has affected me like few stories ever have.
Bruce David Daniels is as cowardly a son of a bitch as you’re likely to run across. Everything he did to Rachel Susan Miller, and his incredibly lack of remorse afterwards, made me want to hate him more and more.
Bruce David Daniels’ interview with police was so emotionless and cold, he might as well have been detailing for cops how he rebuilt a Chevy small block V8. No regret. No remorse. Not even a hint that he was sorry for the pain he caused not only Rachel, but his two children too. For him, every action he took that fateful day was entirely justified. She was his wife after all.
But the most annoying, spiteful thing he repeatedly did throughout his interrogation was to use the phrase “making love to my wife” to describe the vicious rape of Rachel Susan Miller. Every time I read those words my teeth would clench just a little bit more and my hands would shake just a tiny bit more. By the time I was done working on this story, I was very angry at Bruce Daniels.
And to the end, he denied he was responsible for her death. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t do it, because she was still breathing and making sounds when he left her for dead. Un-fucking-believable!
DANIELS: Yeah, but I had to go far away because I ain’t dumb man. Nobody would believe me that I went to just fucking talk to her and that I just lost my temper. I found out when I got arrested in these parts that she died for some reason.
For some reason? Nooo, you’re not a dumb man Bruce. Not at all.
EVANS: Did you share with anyone that she died two days ago?
DANIELS: No, I only found out when I got arrested. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you people. She was not dead when I left so that means I did not kill her. Lock me up for beating her up because I lost my temper but I didn’t kill her so I did not murder her and won’t tell anyone that. You, family, friends, nobody. Okay? I didn’t fucking kill her.
Sure, you’re hands are clean Bruce. She must have had a heart condition or some shit. I mean, what kind of person can’t take countless punches to the head and face, strangling and massive hemorrhaging from a miscarriage caused by sexual assault and not live. The guilty plea reads:
…struck Rachel Susan Miller, repeatedly on various parts of her body, with a hammer, a wrench, your fists and your feet, causing profuse bleeding, and multiple fractures on April 13, 2000, which led to her death and that of a six week fetus on April 26, 2000…
Yep, you’re off the hook Bruce – You fucking moron.
But for me, the worst part was the fact that this animal, this subhuman neanderthal, was allowed to cop a plea to save his life. A jury should have decided his fate, and I believe they would have taken no time at all to give him the death penalty. But if you give this kind a coward a way out, he’ll take it every time. Bruce was no exception.
The Bruce Millers of the world make me sick to my stomach. I don’t know if it’s their arrogance, their ignorance, their cowardice, or their downright stupidity that gets to me the most, but I feel that anyone who removes a guy like this from the world should be hailed as a hero.
I pride myself on my self control – it took me years to master a very bad temper – and I seldom let people get under my skin, but whenever I read about another case like this, I lose it. I want to hurt this cocksucker.
Does this make me a bad person? I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care. I’m not a saint after all, just another flawed human being….
Does Bruce David Daniels Deserve Hell?
- Yes (99%, 526 Votes)
- No (1%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 530
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90 Comments »
Trust me when I say this, Max, no it doesn’t make you a bad person.
It makes you a normal human being with empathy, compassion, and God help you, a soul.
This prick is a psychopath. Pure and simple — I stress the simple. Most psychopaths are secular and totally self-involved. She didn’t die because of him cause she died “after” he left. When he leaves, she’s still clinging to life, k? So he can absolve himself of her death cause it didn’t happen in his presence.
The only thing that would bring justice to this cretin is to turn his punishment over to another psychopath. I am willing to volunteer any time for such duty.
You see, only another psychopath would be capable of truly deriving the appropriate punishment for a psychopath. Regular human beings are incapable of understanding just what would cut through to the center of a psychopath’s mental landscape.
And I think if we could just re-arrange the justice system to take care of these assholes in this fashion, then we would have fewer and fewer of them committing crime. You see, psychopaths DO NOT like to have their own lives threatened and will go absolutely ape-shit if someone does ANYTHING to them.
That is also why they will cop to a plea in order to save their worthless skins.
Just tie him to a tree, let Rachel’s friends know where and when and walk away. Don’t give the pleasure to another psychopath. I’ll take a good share of it myself. Do the same for all the other things that are like him. Mob justice is all they deserve.
Written Very Well!
This story was very hard to read, very heart breaking.
I wish upon him the same death he visited upon Rachel. And then the speedy descent into hell. May it happen soon.
Thank you Max, for allowing me to bring Rachels story to light. Reading it here ate me up just as bad as when I was writing it.
No Katrina, thank YOU for writing such a moving account of this tragedy. It was a privilege to be able to help spread Rachel Miller’s story.
As I said in my comments, I am rarely if ever touched by a story the way I was touched by this one. I hope Bruce Daniels has suffered every single day he has served in prison for the murder of his ex-wife and her unborn son.
Thank you both for bringing it to me!
Thank you, Katrina. I have no other words right now, if that says anything at all to you. Later, I’m sure. But now? I’m too numb after reading that.
It most definitely says alot vc. As a long time reader here, I have read many, many of your comments and have much admired your stance. Rachels story most definitely should effect everyone like this, because if it doesn’t, well then you’re not much better than the scum that did this.
Wow, just so heart breaking. thank you for having enough strength to write it for the rest of us.
Two questions….when is he going to stop being alive ? And why does he still have a head ?
Valid questions. I’m looking forward to the answers.
Excellent story, Katrina. I wish I had the talent to write like you.
Reading the police interview made me feel physically sick and dirty. I had to change clothes right then and there after finishing it. I hate abusers who act like they have done no wrong and it’s all the VICTIM’S fault. Ugh.
That could have been me.
That could have been me….
That’s all I could think thru my tears.
That could have been me.
*hugs*
And I don’t know what else to say. This revolting story has stolen my speech. Or coherent thoughts. Or something.
Katrina, you did an AMAZING job! I fell in love with Rachel, hated-for lack of a better word-Bruce, and cried for the family. Not just any story can do that. So again, good job! :)
Rachel was a beautiful light in this horribly dark world and that monster destroyed her. I’m sure she was a hero and inspiration to all those women in abusive relationships who saw her escape and go on to a better life. I hope they continue to focus on that point and not the fact that her abuser caught up to her eventually.
I think Bruce should be charged with his son’s suicide as well, is that possible? Because of his actions someone died. Makes sense to me. I’m a Friend to The Bible on Facebook and they have a section currently where you can post a prayer request and people will pray for it. I’m going to post Rachel’s family and a link to this story. Hopefully someone will see this and it will change their life somehow.
Thank you Ashley, I read Rachels story quite a few years ago and it affects me the same every time I re-read it. Bruce Daniels not only stole Rachel away from her family and children but the rest of the world as well. She was headed for great things and would have made a huge difference in the battle against Domestic Violence. Thinking of her son Tyler and his inner battle breaks my heart.
I cried reading this. It’s just….there are no words I can use to properly describe this.
Very good write up Katrina..I read the confession and I am furious that he had the nerve to keep saying he didnt murder her….and those detectives kept their cool…I would have asked at the end…seeing as you did not murder rachel if you would have left her alone to continue watching friends would she be dead today? He beat her for over an hour…with a wrench at that…causing HIS son to take his own life…evil sociopath who only worried about his wants….RIP Rachel, Tyler and the unborn baby.
I know exactly how you feel. And it’s for that exact reason I wanted people to read that interview, to know he admitted to every evil thing he did in detail and had absolutely no problem doing it, minus admitting that he was the cause of Rachels death. As if his actions alone hadn’t sealed his fate, he made sure we all had his words to testify to it in black and white.
So this prick is saying it’s her fault that she died?
He merely injured her, so it’s her fault for not getting better?
Sounds like a law school grad to me!
Not being prosecuted for the death of the baby that happened to be inside Rachel kind of reminds me about the Robert Courchesne – were CT re-evaluates weather the baby that was born premature was alive enough to have been murdered.
When I was having my alrm system installed in my small house the installer got a kick of how conscience I was – he said I was asking for more zones than many of the mansions in the better towns. I requested that my cellar door be armed as an exterior door.
Because our cellar could not be easily monitored, and we don’t go down there every day, I figured it would be easier to split the house into the “living zone” and treat everything else as an exterior zone.
But even if this prick tripped the alarm, I am sure that he’d have just gone back to the old drawing board, she’d have had a week or two more to live.
Alarms only deter the not so determined. For those who are determined, an alarm gives the victim(s) to be notice – sometimes the notice makes all the difference as the would be victim is prepared, the element of surprise is gone and in other cases the victim has just a little bit more of a clue that something is wrong.
It’s a shame that Bruce still lives.
It would be nice if he was somehow found responsible for his son’s suicide, but such “responsibility” laws are generally used for taxation and civil infractions….
I hope that Bruce is in GP, and I hope that an inmate decides to hold him responsible for the son’s suicide.
This story broke my heart. All I can say is this mother fucker belongs in the deepest pits of hell. That poor woman, then her son taking his own life, man my heart is aching right now. The way this POS described the beatings, like it was no big deal and it was all Rachels fault!!! I want to find the biggest, meanest assholes around and track this fucker down and beat him til I get tired
You state that on the date “On Friday, January 15th, 201″ she left a Facebook message. 201 is not a year. I’d assume you meant 2000. Or maybe 2001. Either way Facebook was not around until 2004. Might want to clean that part up.
*ahem*
You say “201 is not a year.” Well, my dear Einstein, it IS a fucking year. At least in this context. Or do you think the Christian calendar begins from, say, 202 years after the birth of Christ? Or maybe they skipped a year, and went from the year 200 directly to the year 202?
“I’d assume you meant 2000. Or maybe 2001.” Well, considering that you know Facebook well enough to know it hasn’t been around since 2004, what the fuck makes you assume the writer meant 2000 or 2001? Isn’t it far, far, far more likely that the error is due to a typo and that there’s simply a zero missing from the end, and that the year mentioned is supposed to be 2010?
You could have pointed the error out in a nice and polite fashion. But you decided to be a smartass. And it bit you right in the nuts.
You’re right Michael, that sentence makes no sense at all. Totally my fault too, since I changed the original text, which Katrina had written correctly. Thanks for pointing that out….I returned the paragraph to Katrina’s original version.
HeHe – Remember that Aamco Transmission commercial from a few years ago:
“We’ll fix it so it’s much, much better than new”
Thanks Max. And just relax Homer. Everything’s going to be ok.
I’ll try, Michael, and I hope so. I’ve had a bit of a bumpy ride lately, and I’ve just been wanting to chew everybody’s ass off. The problem is it doesn’t really help, and it quickly begins to taste like shit. Still, the brakes fail occasionally. So I apologise for the bitemarks and thank you for being cool about it.
Homer,
You’re very aware of the various bitch slaps I have received from life as of late, and must agree with you on one thing. – There are times I want to literally rip someone’s head off in some deluded belief that I might feel better for having done so. – It doesn’t help…trust me.
The hardest thing to do is not to let yourself become bitter and constantly pissed off at the world. It’s too easy to fall victim to that, but in the end helps no one….and only bites you in the ass.
We all have to keep moving forward and try to remain decent, caring human beings no matter how impossible that sometimes seems. – And if you need anything….anything at all, you know how to reach me.
It is truly a hideous world we all live in, and we all have to fumble our way through the most depressing, heart-breaking aspects of it….but somehow we do. We have no other options. And it’s far easier with friends who can relate and actually give a shit. :)
<3
It’s cool. I realize I came off as a dick. Wasn’t my intention. Sometimes I’m kind of straightforward and sound rude. I was wrong in the first place. So whatever. Lets focus our anger on the real dirtbags and not each other. Enjoy yourself everyone.
Even Hell is too good a place for this cock- sucking, mother- fucking piece of shit. Life in prison? And why was he not held accountable for his son’s suicide? Where are the people who are supposed to be delivering justice? It seems there are more “men” who need to be raped to death in this world!
It’s days like this that I consider my options, consider my health and wonder if the words “Vengeance is mine” are in fact the only things keeping me from removing this thing from this world.
Excellent writing, I read the interview and I almost broke down weeping by the end. She was a possession of his, in his mind. Something that he could mold and manipulate, that he owned forever, a tool for his gratification and abuse. She made him mad…
I’m going to go and find something filled with sawdust to hit a few hundred times and then go shower and hug my wife.
From his taped interview : “I saw all the blood and I felt bad she made me do that because she wouldn’t say she loved me or give me my kids so to let her know I was sorry, I made love to her real nice, real loving you know?”
She made him do what she did to her. The poor, poor man. All he wanted was his good marriage and his kids, and damn that ‘husband guy’ for stealing her from him. He stalked her for weeks, bypassed her security system and sneaked into her house from the basement just to talk to her. Why couldn’t she understand that?
I have to go lay down.
Maybe she would have believed him if he came down the chinmey like Santa!
I noticed that throughout the interview. The delusional “she made me do it”. He makes me sick. The whole thing makes me sick.
Have any of you ever read “Rose Madder”? Norman DANIELS is a husband who beats his wife into a miscarriage at the bottom of a staircase after many years of terrible abuse. That causes her to leave him (finally), and he stalks her to another town and hunts her down to ‘talk to her up close’. Aside from the ridiculous Stephen King magic stuff that goes on, this story is practically the same. Someone lived a Stephen King book. I can’t get past that, because all he does is pick out the worst possible nightmares and tell stories about them. Worst possible. Shit that could never happen in the real world.
I can’t imagine what makes a guy like that think that he’s bringing his wife and family anything but horror and pain. Well, yes, I CAN imagine what the reason is, I just can’t imagine being in his brain and hearing his psychosis speak to him to justify it. “Her fault, she’s making you do this, maybe if you just make love to her she’ll see how you feel about her and everything will be o.k.” What a dark, scary world to live in. We need to kill monsters like this. There’s no reason for him to live.
He’s got many “problems”
1. He sees himself as a victim, the world is against him, or at least everybody that knows him well enough….
2. Maybe there are people that don’t know him well enough and like him, so she’s…………..
3. No emotion, no soul, no real conscience for what happens to others
He seems to be an extreme product of the “Me” generation.
I’ll dare bet that he was more upset about his hammer being broken, maybe blaming her ribs for grabbing and holding onto the head of the hammer….
This bastard is purely evil and manipulative.
He has no soul, Fred. That’s all I can think of. He’s just an animated brain without anything to make him truly human.
Borderline Personality Disorder. Over 80% of incarcerated men have it, where everything bad in their lives is someone elses fault. I have a cousin with this he is a crack addict. His wife left and took the kids, I know in my heart that he hit her on more than one occaision. He sounds alot like this guy except he did not do what this guy did. The attitude of daniels sounds like my cousin (he blames me for his divorce by the way). Just gives me the creeps that it isnt really that far of a jump between my cousin and this guy. Scary how common this is. Is the daughtet ok?
OMG, I totally agree that it’s like a King novel. Especially since I keep wanting to tell her NOT to run to the closet, cause he’s gonna find you. Please run the hell out the front door. I certainly don’t have the layout of the house, but goddamn it, why can’t she have run out the front door and made it to a neighbor’s house and this could’ve had a happy ending. =(
I must say, I have been reading stories on this site for over 3 years and have never replied to a story; I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve damn near thrown up, but I have never replied until now. This story was so moving and heartbreaking. I pray for Rachel’s family and can only wish that the harshest death fall upon that sorry excuse for a human called Bruce Daniels. Very well written!
This is the first story to make me physically ill in a good six months… I don’t know if it was the fact Rachel wised the hell up, took her kids and RAN, or that she started over, or that her poor son killed himself… ugh. I think what REALLY did it for me was the snippets of interview – it reminded me of the beginning of Slingblade when Billy Bob Thornton’s character is being interviewed by the student and he just explains everything so matter-of-factly… this was excellently written but I almost wish it hadn’t been, as it’ll be days before I can shake this.
Also – her poor second husband and surviving daughter! The daughter lost almost all her blood relatives and the husband lost his only blood-related soon-to-be son… ugh. Just awful.
Thanx for thinking of the second husband – loosing a step son and possibly a step daughter! If the biological family decided to claim the daughter, he may have had little to say, esp with the child being at such a young age!
The worst part is that the second husband I will assume to be a decent guy and is working to take care of himself. The murderer of his wife and his child’s mother is being house and fed for free!
I hope that this story gets to Bubba, so Bubba will know that there are 2 children dead and a daughter who will never know her mother.
What went through her head as she was being beaten to death while listening to her husband leaving a message to say he would be an hour late, and that he loved her? What does her husband feel now that he knows what the timeframe was, and what was happening to his wife in his home when he left that message? What anguish for the son who committed suicide out of self-loathing. And she MADE the monster do it. I just can’t imagine what it would feel like for any of these people, and I’m usually really good at the whole ‘empathy/sympathy’ thing. I can’t wrap my mind around it this time.
I thought the same thing about her having to listen to the message being left as that was happening to her. I wonder if her husband was supposed to get home during the time of the murder. I can’t imagine how he felt walking into that :( Just a horribly sad situation all around.
I think what makes this story so horrifying is that it could have happened to anyone. Domestic violence kills people all.the.time. It’s too bad that wonderful people like Rachel Miller have to die to prove it.
Let me have a word or 2 with ol’ Bruce. Leave him unattended for 5 minutes.
Another lurker here.
Another lurker here.
I’ve been enjoying this site for a while now (you guys are great!). These criminals that have been covered make me cringe and wretch, but this is one of those that just exponentially piss me off.
This could have been me.
I broke up with my ex-boyfriend in late 2008, and got my own place. Work full-time, school full-time, and I thought I was well on my way to getting my life back. I didn’t know that my ex had not only found
my new information, he made a copy of my new apartment key without my knowledge. Knowing my work schedule, he’d be in my apartment — breaking this, stealing that. Nothing I use regularly so it took a while to notice. I even confronted my landlord about entering my apartment… it couldn’t have been my ex, I thought. He didn’t know where I lived, and even if he did, he’d never do that to me, I thought. He knew about my life with a molester as a stepfather, and he promised to never violate me in any way.
Was I fucking wrong.
He started the full-flegded fuckery on Christmas morning. While at his ex’s house visiting the kids (hey it’s Christmas, sounds simple enough, right?), he convinced his ex to help him with a ruse — each called me on their own cell, trying to convince me this this asshat has just said goodbye to the kids, and is now driving around looking to kill himself…and the only way I can save their father is to take him back. Me, still a bit confused as to why this idiot decided to kill himself on Christmas morning and traumatize everybody, told her to let him kill himself. He’s too vain to do it anyway.
Two weeks later an January 13th, I was at home on my day off. I remember what I was watching too, it was Maury. I heard my door unlocking, and immediately thought is was the landlord, and I was going to let her have it. But as I got to the opening door, there he was, in cargo jeans, combat boots, a long sleeved thermal, a beanie and aviator sunglasses. before I could even ask how the hell he found me, he pepper-sprayed me and knocked me to the ground. Then I felt the cold metal snapping on my wrists, I’m being handcuffed behing my back. I scream and fight as he tries to smother me. Next thing I know, there’s a gun to my head. Ex tells me that if I keep screaming, he’ll just kill me right now. He sits me up and explains his idiocy to me:
* I’m going to be killed because I didn’t grieve long enough over losing him
* I’m going to be killed because I’m interested in someone else (How did he find out, you ask? He’d installed spyware on my computer)
*I was to raped and sodomized all day, and killed in the middle of the night, while all unsuspecting folk thought he was at work
*And, that the ONLY reason he didn’t kill his ex, was because she was obedient and helped him try to win me back on Christmas day.
What he didn’t know, was that by then I had already popped my thumb and managed to remove one hand from the handcuffs. Listening to that sick fuck talk while waiting for a chance (if any) to fight for my life, felt like an eternity.
My chance came when he put his guard down to barracade the door. I jumped for the gun and pistol whipped to mess out of him. I wa pepper sprayed again, hair ripped out, kicked hit and stomped. he took my still handcuffed wrist, and locked it tighter
until flesh tore. He yanked me around the room with that handcuff until I was able to dislocate his shoulder.
Now that I’m dripping in blood, burning and aching, NOW he wants to make a deal. Here’s where it got a little different in regards to the story above. He asked me if I wanted to live, and I said yes. He gave me 4 conditions by which he’d spare me:
* I was marry him immediately
*I was to get pregnant by him immediately
*I was to sever all contact with my current friends
*and I was to let him take full control of my finances, so I couldn’t plan another escape.
I agreed. When he asked me to come back to him and tell him I love him, I thought about sticking to my guns and telling him that we were so over… but something in my gut told me that had I did that, I would have been shot immediately. So unlike Rachel, I told him I did. I even let him kiss me. He asked to make love to me. I was so disgusted that I couldn’t speak, but the look on my face said it. He replied: “It’s okay, I can understand if you’re a little scared of me right now. We have the rest of our lives together. I can wait.”
He left to pack some things, as he thought he was moving into my new, blood-soaked apartment that night. When he left, I called the cops. They arrested him trying to return to my home.
He pled not guilty to all 9 felony charges (including premeditated attempted murder). His ex (whatta gal. Did I mention it was her gun he used on me?) even hired a lawyer for him, and they also used the “just came to talk” argument.
Didn’t matter — the jury found him guilty of everything. On his day of sentencing, his ex gave a sob story about him maybe having PTSD, and that he should be given another chance…
The judges response: “And, who are you again?”
He received 38 years to life, and is serving it at Corcoran. The ex had to sell her house to pay for his lawyer, and I’m back in school. I’ve now become facinated with the anatomy of crime, and search different outlets looking for insight. This website saddens me that these people exist, but it brings awareness that the fight against these scum is never really over. I felt only way I could truly say thank you was to share my story. I wish Rachel was as lucky as I was that day.
Sorry for the rant. Just emotional.
…Wow. What courage you have, even to just be able to speak about what happened to you. But to have survived it! VJinCali, you’re amazing. Just incredible. Thank you for sharing this with us! I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE O.K.!!!!
THIS
Oh my God… you don’t know how strong you are. Thank you for sharing your story.
I love you VJinCali.
While I’m sorry you had to suffer so much at the hands of your cowardly ex, I’m filled with admiration for your strength of character and will to live. Not everyone can keep their head in a life threatening situation the way you did,and then act when the opportunity presents itself.
So how good did it feel when the judge gave him that 38 to life bid? In Cocoran no less – woohoo! Pelican Bay would have been even better, but Cocoran will do in a pinch. Did he cry like the little wus-boy we now he really is? How about his ex-girlfriend? I know she cried, right? Oooh, I hope so.
Sorry, sorry, but it’s so rare when we get to ask a survivor of one of these attacks any questions about anything resembling a happy ending. I kind of got carried away with myself.
Thank you so much for the love. It’s needed!
Yeah, him going Corcoran does tickle a bit — he went from being scared of prison (couldn’t even watch prison dramas) to sharing comissary cookies with Charlie Manson. Ah well. As for the ex, yeah she was shook up, especially after my ex said he only did what he did because he wanted to marry ME, and that I better remember he spared my life. But I was too focused on his lawyer demanding that idiot to stop speaking.
I should’ve charged admission to the sentencing.
You should have sent this one in as a story, it was a good piece.
There are so many 2 and 3rd person stories, but few are from the actual victim’s perspective.
I am still waiting to see Richard Lavinge’s nomination here (hint hint)
Seriously when we read, we don’t know what is going thru the victim’s mind. You thought it was your landlord, so you were pissed. but obviously in little state as to physically defend yourself – thanks for including that detail.
You waited and stated why, you stated what you waited for and stated that it seemed like forever…. some attacks seem to go by fast as the victim occasionally blacks out or forgets the time span.
Seriously – you should write this one up and let Max work his wonders – he’s taken a few lumps of coal and turned them into diamonds for me!
I submitted my story so that people can see that anyone can be a victim and there is nothing to be ashamed of!
I want people to know that most monsters thrive on power and isolation. Real soulless bastards bring in others on their act as to make their victims think even less of themselves, that they (the victims) are the ones in the wrong for feeling the way they feel.
Most monsters are really bullies – and like a fungus they thrive in dark isolation.
Jesus, what a horrible experience. All the strength, love and light your way. And never apologise for being emotional about it.
I’m so happy that you are alive and I’m so unhappy that our world place the burden on the woman to fight her way out of handcuffs not to be killed.
Oh my god. This is my worst nightmare come to life. I wish it hadn’t happened to her, to anyone. If I could have stood in her place, I would have. Her poor son!! ugh
Who THE FUCK decided to make a plea bargain with this asshole? They should have the option of going to Hell also. This SOB should fry.
Holy shit this story broke my heart. He killed her and he killed his son. I doubt he will ever see how he killed his son as he didnt even see how he killed rachel. I hope he gets tortured in jail….tortured slowly everyday until he finally falls over dead. I have so much hate for this man after reading the transcript.
This line: “He attempted to rape her one last time, but apparently the baby that she was losing caused so much blood to pour out of her that he lost interest.”
That line got to me worse than anything I’ve read on here before, I think.
After I wrote this and went back to read, re read, and read again before submitting to admin, I thought long and hard about that partricular line and came to the conclusion that I should just leave it as it was when the story first came to me. It sux, it’s horrible, and it’s screams of the evil Rachel experienced first hand..that’s what made me keep it in there…no other reason other than it was the straight facts, laid out by this disgusting mother fucker, in his own words…
The transcript… Just fucking vile. I will never understand where that mind frame comes from. How his ex wife *made him* rape her. How she *made him* hit her. The only thing about this site I dislike is how I always leave feeling disgusted that there’s nothing I can do to help the victims. Or properly exterminate the creatures that brutalize them. By the way this article was extremely well-written and won’t leave me for a long time.
I feel the same way… if given an option, I would gladly donate to the victim’s families.
Holy shit. That interview was just. Holy shit. Rest in peace Rachel.
This is just awful. How terribly heartbreaking. It was excellently written; thank you for bringing her story to us. My heart goes out to her and her family. That piece of shit definitely deserves hell. Long, slow, suffering hell. She thought she was safe…
This story is truly heartbreaking. I thank you for the chance to remember Rachel. I am grateful that web sites like this one bring these stories into the light…that someone is trying to give a voice to the voiceless.
I have a friend (STILL…thank god) who had to run from a situation much like this one. She was my neighbor and friend and came to me one day and asked if I would drive to the store with her. On the way back she told me she was going to “disappear”. She didn’t ask, but I offered to help. I knew that her husband, Doug, was a heroin addict and had been abusive to her in the past. I also knew that she was currently estranged from him. I didn’t know that he had been raping her at gunpoint, threatening to kill her, stealing her money, selling her possessions and physically and verbally abusing her children.
When she came to me for help, I could not refuse.
I arranged for almost every capable person in the apartment to help the next afternoon. While Doug was out looking for drugs, we drove a Uhaul van into the back of the apartment complex and everyone helped her load her things into it. I drove her car and she drove the Uhaul…and we drove away. I didn’t have a clue where we were going…but I trusted her and she trusted me…and we drove away together, through Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Arizona, to Phoenix. On the way we stopped at the Grand Canyon. We arrived at 4 a.m. and watched the sun rise from the South Rim. We prayed together and I felt God for the first time there.
Later that day, we found an apartment on Cactus Drive in Mesa and within 2 weeks we both had jobs. We lived there together with her 3 children anonymously for about 6 months before anyone…even my family…knew where we were. My friend was always VERY paranoid about every person, phone call, email, letter.
Doug eventually (about a year later) died of a drug overdose.
It was the only time I can remember that I felt relief at the news of another human beings death.
I appreciate this site.
Thank you for what you do.
Michelle Back
We do nothing except talk, and perhaps remind people that there are woman like Rachel Miller dying every day. You, on the other hand, got involved, and could very well have saved someone’s life, because unlike a lot of people these days, you felt an obligation to help a fellow human being in trouble. It’s you and those like you who are my heroes and my inspirations.
Thank you for what you did…
You probably saved her life, it is too common for a woman to be killed by an intimate partner. Her life and the lives of her kids too.
i agree he should be held accountable for the baby inside her womb that he also killed. Was Christopher just a name they were considering or something? Because it’s not possible to tell the gender at a month and a half. That’s just one thing that got me confused in this story.
The parts where he said he “made love to her” made me sick. NONE of what he did to that woman was love, not even close! He should be held accountable for his 12 year old son’s death as well, because it’s obvious the boy would still be alive of his mother were still here. Low life piece of shit.
I just read that whole transcript and to know that there are “humans” in this world that afford themselves this kind of authority over others, well it’s as scary as it is infuriating. Thanks for the story.
I am at a loss for words… RIP Rachel, Tyler and baby Christopher.
I’ve read a lot of stories on here, but this one hit me like no other. I’m glad nobody else was home when I got to the part about the son’s suicide as I broke down and started howling uncontrollably. My heart and soul go out to this family and everyone else touched by domestic violence. There is no excuse. Thank you Katrina and Max.
What state did this happen in?
You know something NuttyBuddy? I tried 8 ways to Sunday to find that out, and I had absolutely no luck. I was trying to get a picture of Bruce Daniels, and inmate records are a good place to get one, but I needed to find out the proper DOC in order to find them. I mean I looked everywhere – it’s the weirdest thing, no one ever mentions what state he murdered Rachel Susan Miller in.
Max,
I tried Googling and something a little more complicated with every state and every province in an English speaking country, and I found nothing that pointed me in the right direction. I found references and caches claiming streaktc was Rachel’s brother and that her second husband had passed after a car wreck in 2002, but I couldn’t find his death certificate in a database in the United States, and that puzzles me. Her daughter is Caitlin Miller or Caitlin Daniels, but while I can find many, I don’t really find anyone meeting both age and missing parents. Sure, they might not be on the internet, but losing brother, mother, stepfather and having an asshole for a father seem like the sort of thing that might lead you here.
I don’t know, I even tried looking for this “advice of the Miller and Ciraolo families” thing and I come to the same conclusion in my head.
1. This story has been altered enough so that the guilty and innocent are hidden behind aliases
or
2. This is a clever fake story based upon a Law and Order Episode.
If someone steps forward and can fill in the holes here, I’d be appreciative, but I really did try the easy parts on this one and some of the slicker methods.
I tried finding where Bruce was incarcerated before submitting the story as well and was never able to find anything. I found the bit parts about Rachels second husband passing away too, but nothing more detailed that would hint as to where this took place. I’ve been digging again and still not able to find anything more than what I initially found.
Considering the violence and tragedy, I assumed names had perhaps been changed, etc.., to protect those left in Rachels family. The police interview even has the city and state blacked out. From what I remember reading, it was Rachels family that released the police interview.
I’ll continue to keep searching and if anyone else has any luck, I’d appreciate an update as well.
I don’t think you did anything wrong, I just have a very suspicious heart, and can’t seem to find enough details.
OH MY GOD! I just read the transcripts and I seriously would not know how to control myself if he was in front of me right now. I just want to ripe his freakin d!ck off and shove it down his throat. It is kind of scary though that he (I am assuming that he is not very bright) can look for her through the internet with just her social security number and her name through the internet. As a victim of identity theft, that scares me alot. We are no longer safe anywhere.
My ex “tracked me down” a few years ago (after he absconded to Johannesburg without telling me- or paying maintenance, or leaving a forwarding address, or informing the courts…) using a “private investigator”- all he managed to get was my PARENT’S address and telephone number (and believe me, we weren’t hiding!) and then got the cops to pull up and try to arrest ME for “withholding the children from his contact!”
How corrupt are South African cops? They “won’t get involved” when he defaults on child support payments and encourage a woman to “retract” accusations of abuse in order to “reconcile the family” but they’ll bring two squad cars with eight officers out when you bring your kids to VISIT their grandparents (because your make ex has had a Cocaine- induced epiphany of paternal responsibilty) and terrify the living shit out of your preschoolers! And we wonder why women are so badly abused in this country and the men get away with it. They’re basically allowed to flit in and out of the kids lives as they see fit and make their exes lives a living hell but woe betide the woman who should try to stick up for herself! And unfortunately the system is partly to blame all over the world- there’s still a stigma of “you must have caused this to happen to yourself” amongst knuckle- draggers in every country so we aren’t protected, no matter what.
Such a shame :(…. what a true sociopath.
Very well-written, as well as heart-breaking. The worst part is that her poor son took his own life at 12 yeras old. No 12-year-old should ever feel like death is the only way out.. This filthy beast is what hell is meant for.
I was reading about the Casey Anthony trial today, and found an article about a sicko named David Hamilton runs a web site call AMFA – Accused Murderes for a Free America.. This guy was acquitted of murdering 4 people, but will not actually say he did NOT do it.. He feels that murderers (yes, even guilty ones), don’t deserve to “suffer” from the “stress” of a trial.. I wanted to vomit – literally. Max, I’m not sure how you feel about people posting links on here, but I thought the good folks of PYSIH should know about this. Here’s a link to this douche nozzle’s web site, and also a link to the article that led me to it.
http://nastyish.com/Nasties/Nastyish-AMFA.html
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/pages/Murderers-across-America-celebrate-release-of-Casey-Anthony-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html
the sad irony of this is that the son would never have turned out like his father as he knew that what his father did was so wrong. such a waste.
who are the 1% that voted no?
That poor little boy – to be so traumatized and probably completely haunted by feelings of a morbid future for himself took his own life! This is one of the saddest stories but I’m glad to have come across it because it reinforces that we have to be on our guard at all times. As a female who has been a victim of crime(s) as well as childhood abuse I suffer from PTSD – ongoing. It manifests in ways I can’t begin to express and so I admire those who have been able to still function in their daily lives.
I think this story underscores a point maybe not readily obvious to other readers but to me its that WE, especially women need to remember we don’t have the body strength of men and it will never be a fair fight. Everything we DON’T do to prepare ourselves and our living environments is another line of weakness that a criminally minded person can take advantage of. I myself have gotten careless and a bit too comfortable then find myself thinking ‘wait this is not a safe situations, this could potentially be putting me at risk…’
I’m soon going to be training to use a pistol and will probably be a gun owner before the end of the year. I’ve had mixed feelings about it. Guns are scary period. But I have no young children in the home so I think the time is right.
Other things people can consider doing is keeping dowels in every window and every sliding glass door. Keep your front and back yard well lit and keep pepperspray out and ready to use as you walk to and from car.
Take self-defense courses you keep up on – including boxing. Also consider other types of “small weapons” training. Change your route to and from work frequently. Consider getting a large dog, one who is well trained and will bark to alert you. Document any suspicious phone call or activity around your house. At stores when they ask for your phone number or email address, decline to give it to them…the less strangers know your personal business the better. You never know who that guy is standing behind you in line…
If a man or anyone comes up to you while you are out and about don’t feel embarrassed to shrug them off -nobody should be in your personal space. I don’t know how many times this has happened to me especially as I was either sitting in my car or just getting out of it in a parking lot. But men or even women asking for money come right up and invade your space…one never knows if one of them are hostile or violent – so being ready for that sort of thing is important.
If you have car trouble and are stuck don’t get in a strangers car. Ask to use their cell phone if you don’t have one and keep a mental posture around yourself that you are alert. Most importantly these days everyone should have a cell phone for emergencies!
Keep an alarm on your house. Change the code every so often. If in an apt… ask the manager to install new locks because you want to make sure previous tenants do NOT have access. Even if you live upstairs, use dowels in your windows…crimimals do what they do best, THEY CRAWL!
If you are trying to get away from someone or you don’t want a certain person to know where you live….but you think they can find you, tell your neighbors, your managers, bosses and anyone else that if ANYONE comes inquiring about you or seems interested in your whearabouts NOT TO SAY anything. Give them a description of the person but tell them that they might change their appearance so to be on the look out. Now, this one is always a tricky one because you think the less people know about you and your business the better and possibly the safer you feel. However, many crimes have been averted because bystanders were already in the know.
My hats off to VJinCali – for her bravery…
I would like to say Thank you for putting this on your site. I have never been to this site before and came accross it Yeasterday. As of this minute dec 24,2011 I am sitting in a VAW(vilence against woman) shelter In Toronto. All day today I was actually thinking about going back home because of the Many Email messages for My Ex saying He would go for help. We also have Five year old twins and I have been having a hard time the last couple of days with it being the time of year it is, and I am unable to give my Children a “proper” Christmas Holiday. When We left on the 8th of December we had nothing but the clothes on our back, and because I was never allowed to have money I was not able to buy gifts for my children for the Holidays. After reading your artical any thought I was having of returning has officiall left my Mind for good. So I just wanted to say Thanks for this site and the moment of clarity after reading this….
About 10 years ago, I stayed in a homeless shelter with my daughter. There were several families there that were escaping an abusive relationship.
I am so glad you are out of the abuser’s home. Please don’t let his emails get to you. He is probably using the holidays as an excuse for you and the kids to come back.
Reference of this in the news media:
Group raises domestic violence awareness?
Pay-Per-View -
Times Recorder – Oct 6, 2009
The other crime scene depicted the gruesome killing of Rachel Susan Miller, who was brutally murdered April 26, 2000, by her former husband, Bruce Daniels.
pqasb.pqarchiver.com/zanesvilletimesrecorder/access/1873463561.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+06%2C+2009&author=KATHY+THOMPSON&pub=Times+Recorder&desc=Group+raises+domestic+violence+awareness&pqatl=google
Rachel was a friend of mine. I was doing some writing for an organisation that is working to stop domestic violence. We had some really good arguements and became really good friends online. I probably would have gone to see her and Kurt after the baby was born. Kurt died in an ‘accident’ shortly after Tyler killed himself. I don’t know where her daughter ended up, but I hope she’s ok and I hope she understands everything now. Rachel was a beautiful soul. Bruce isn’t human.
People who grow up with domestic violence grow up condoning it, either accepting it or practicing it. You should never hurt the ones you love. You should never accept that one you love hurts you. If you don’t agree with that; you need help with your mental health. Peace.