By Steve Neavling
An FBI photographer found dead in a creek in a forest in North Carolina in October 2019 died as the result of homicide, a medical examiner has finally ruled.
Authorities found 60-year-old Kathleen Miller, of Huntsville, Ala., in a shallow creek in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina on Oct. 7.
Gregory Miller called 911 and calmly reported his wife, who had no health issues and was a longtime swimmer, had fallen in the creek.
“I tried to call for help. I need help,” the husband said in a 911 call. “My wife has fallen in the water, and I couldn’t get her out. … I wish I could be of more help.”
Soon after her death, her husband was named a person of interest in her death.
But the cause of her death has remained a mystery until News 19 obtained a copy of the medical examiner’s report on Wednesday.
“In the report, the medical examiner noted that Kathleen Miller’s body showed abrasions on the bridge and sides of her nose, contusions on her back and elbow, and that her eyes had abnormally bloodshot veins,” News 19 reports.
Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp said Miller’s offered differing accounts of what had happened.
“He just gave two or three different versions of as to how she had drowned,” Crisp said.
No arrests have been made, but Crisp said he plans to soon meet with prosecutors to determine if charges are warranted.
An FBI agent in North Carolina has taken over case, and the investigation is ongoing.
