WV WV - Cynthia Miller, 27, Beckley, 26 August 1981

Cynthia had just bought a home that year, living at 103 Miller Street in Beckley. Her fiance, Lester Police Officer Gary O'Neal, had recently moved in. The couple was set be married on August 27, 1981, but Cynthia never lived to see the day. "About 12:45 a.m., officers responded to her residence, she had been shot multiple times by a small caliber handgun," says Detective Allard.

Her fiance, Gary called 911 after finding his bride-to-be dead on their living room floor. He had been out the night before visiting his father. Police immediately began searching for clues as to who murdered Cynthia. There was no sign of forced entry and nothing in the home had been disturbed or taken. An autopsy revealed there were no signs of a struggle or assault. Examiners determined the shooting occurred around 9:30 p.m. on the eve of her wedding day...

Cynthia had been shot at a close range. Police say two of the shots were contact wounds meaning the gun was pressed directly against her head. The other two were fired about two feet away from her. The overkill led police to believe the killer knew Cynthia. Police questioned Gary, Cynthia's ex-husband, and family members but nothing ever added up. As the investigation remains open 30 years later, police aren't ruling out any possibilities.

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Blume believes the case is solvable with the right break. “I’ve always believed over the years that whoever committed this crime has revealed it to someone,” he says. “There have been hundreds and hundreds of man-hours put on this case. We want to give closure to the family, but without the right piece of evidence coming forward, or the right break, there’s just nowhere to go with it.”

Since the crime was committed, the evidence, which includes clothing, blood-spatter patterns, and written notes found at the crime scene, has been retested using the most up-to-date technologies...

Shumate says currently there are two people of interest whom the police continue to investigate. One is someone Miller knew, and the other is someone in the community who came to her house on the night of her murder in an attempt to speak with her fiancé, a former police officer.

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