Triple homicide suspect in custody after being tracked across multiple states

TORREY, Utah (TCN) -- A man accused of killing a woman, stealing her car, and killing two other women at a trailhead before fleeing the state has been taken into custody, according to authorities. 

The Associated Press reports that on March 4, the husbands of the two women who had gone to the Capitol Reef National Park trailhead alerted authorities about the killings. One of the women’s vehicles was missing. 

The Guardian reports that during the investigation, a third victim was found dead in her home in Wayne County, Utah. A spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, Lt. Cameron Roden, said it does not appear that the suspect had any connection to the victims. 

Using license plate readers and vehicle tracking services, authorities tracked the missing vehicle from Utah through Arizona and Colorado. According to the AP, the suspect abandoned the vehicle in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where authorities found him and took him into custody. 

KTSU reports the suspect is Ivan Miller, 22. According to the outlet, he is from Iowa and authorities do not know how long he had been in Utah before the homicides. He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder on March 5. Records show he has a pending burglary and theft case in Iowa as well as various misdemeanor counts. 

KSL reports he had been scheduled to appear in court in Iowa on March 6 to face charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession, and being ineligible to carry a gun.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims. The hikers were friends in their 30s and 60s, and the woman killed in her home was in her 80s, according to the AP.

KUTV reports Miller allegedly told investigators he killed the women because he needed money. He said he hit an elk in Loa, Utah, sold his car to a towing company, and spent a few days in the area in a hotel. 

He then allegedly stayed in the shed of the home where the body of the woman in her 80s was found. He allegedly entered the home and shot her in the back of the head while she was watching TV, dragged her to the basement, and left in her Buick, KUTV reports.

He told investigators that he didn’t like the Buick and wanted a different car. He spotted the hikers get out of a white Subaru and allegedly shot them and placed them next to each other in a ditch. 

He allegedly told investigators he wanted to use their car to get back to his home state of Iowa and stopped in Pagosa Springs to get gas. KUTV reports he allegedly told investigators that he did not want to kill the women, but it had to be done.

Miller is scheduled to make his first court appearance on March 6, per The Guardian.

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