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The week before jury selection began in his wife's murder trial, Kenneth Miller filed for
divorce in Rowan County.
Kathy Miller, 35, has been in the Rowan County Detention Center since her arrest on Oct.
27, 1998. She stands accused of shooting her father, Leon Wilson Jr., six times at his
Proctor Drive home on Oct. 21.
Documents dated Feb. 7, 2000, show Kenneth Miller's request for a divorce and full custody
of the couple's two children, who have lived with him and his parents since Kathy Miller's
arrest.
But a week after the trial began and after he testified, Kenneth Miller said he has
'reneged on his decision.'
'I am going to stand by my wife. I believe in her innocence, and I'm not going to leave
her,' Kenneth Miller said last week.
Kathy Miller's trial resumed this morning, with District Attorney Bill Kenerly expected to
call his last witnesses.
During his testimony on Feb. 17, Kenneth Miller hesitated with many of his answers.
Kenerly asked Kenneth Miller several questions that would discredit his wife's statement
given at the time of the murder.
The prosecution has presented a significant amount of evidence that places Kathy Miller at
her father's Proctor Drive home around 1 p.m. Oct. 21, during a break from teaching at
North Hills Christian School.
But Kenneth Miller stands by his wife's innocence.
'Our marriage has been in a lot of strain. I jumped the gun and filed for divorce,'
Kenneth Miller said. 'I heard a lot of things from a lot of different people, and I was
just confused.'
The Millers have been married for 13 years and dated three years before that. Their
children are 6 and 9 years old.
Kenneth Miller said he has routinely visited his wife during her year's stay in the Rowan
County Detention Center and recently started taking the children to visit.
He said the arrest and trial have been very hard on his family and sometimes hard to
understand.
'I believe she's innocent, and I'm going to stand by her,' Kenneth Miller restated.
Testimony in the trial has shown that the Millers had been having financial difficulties
for at least two years before Leon Wilson's death.
'We lived week to week,' Kenneth Miller testified.
Bank officials who examined the records of Kenneth and Kathy Miller showed 133
insufficient fund checks for 1997 and 1998. One witness said that, according
to their bank statements, 'there seemed to be a little bit of money there all the time.'
The couple had been living at 2510 Old Mocksville Road for three months before Leon
Wilson's death. They sold their home of four years on Willow Road in the Westcliffe
subdivision so Kathy Miller could stay home with her children.
At that time Kathy Miller quit her job at Grinnell and took a job at North Hills Christian
School, where her two children attended for half price.
After her arrest, several teachers at North Hills Christian School, along with church
members, argued that Kathy Miller should be free on bond while awaiting her trial.
Since Kathy Miller was charged with first-degree murder and District Attorney Bill Kenerly
was pursuing the death penalty, bond was denied.
Kenneth Miller testified his wife told him she was innocent. And he said he will never
leave her side.
And if the jury returns a guilty verdict?
'I'll worry about that then. But I believe she's innocent, and I'm reneging on the
divorce,' he said. 'I'm going to stand by her.'
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