Episode 226: The Murder of Bobbie Miller
Bobbie with her beloved dog Sport
“Bobbie’s Soup” recipe
Roberta Miller, lovingly nicknamed Bobbie, was a lifelong New Hampshire resident who was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on September 25th, 1956. She grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire, graduating from West High School in 1975. Bobbie lived in Wolfeboro for 20 years before moving to Gilford, New Hampshire just two months before her death. She loved her two children, her son Jonathan and daughter Jennifer, going hiking and being outside, especially with her beloved yellow lab Sport. She was also very crafty, especially with stained glass. Her daughter Jennifer stated, “It is difficult to portray what truly made Bobbie incredible. She would do anything for her children and was always so proud of my brother and me. She supported us in every endeavor and made sure we knew that we were never alone. More incredible, she extended this support to each and every person in her life. She shoveled a neighbor’s driveway every snowstorm and pulled another neighbor’s car out of a ditch with a tractor. She volunteered for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust and adopted a dog that weighed just as much as her. She got a tattoo to support a friend and once gave away my bed to another friend in need. She conquered mountains though she was afraid of heights and kept skiing after getting hit in the head with a chairlift. She loved Bon Jovi and the outdoors. She made the most beautiful stained glass and the best chocolate cupcakes. She remains an amazing woman who is irreplaceable in this world.”
54-year-old Bobbie was last seen at a local Lowe’s on Halloween, October 31st, 2010. She was seen on video surveillance footage picking out supplies to build flower boxes for her windows of her new home. At around 4:00 p.m. on November 1st, 2010, Bobbie was found by her son Jonathan in her home on Country Club Road in Gilford, New Hampshire. She had been fatally shot twice, once in her face and neck and once in the back of her head. Also in the home was her sweet dog Sport who had been fatally shot twice as well. This was incredibly shocking to her family as well as anyone who knew her.
Police arrived on scene by 4:30 p.m. and began closing the road within a half hour of arriving, and as more officers came to assist, they were also taken aback at the brutality of the murder of both Bobbie and her dog. Authorities knew that it had to be personal, and they determined that this took place the night before on Halloween night. They quickly found that there was no forced entry into the home, and they were able to rule out robbery after police found thousands of dollars in cash in the home. Investigators first turned to Bobbie’s
ex-husband Gary Miller, who she had divorced in September of 2007 after a 26 year marriage. The reason for the divorce was cited as “irreconcilable differences” and had been finalized a little over two months prior on August 13th, 2010. This was also around when she had purchased her house, which she had put into trust on October 28th, just three days before her murder. She had put her old house, the home she had lived in with Gary and their children in Wolfeboro, into trust as well after she was awarded it in the divorce.
Gary owned multiple businesses including Miller Chevrolet, Miller Ford of Stanford, Maine, which he had sold back to Ford Motor Company a year prior, and Tamworth Tires LLC. According to Bobbie’s good friend and former coworker Tom Beeler, all of Gary’s business dealings had resulted in a “long and nasty” divorce following a separation of about three years. Tom had last seen Bobbie about two weeks before her death and was feeling happy and optimistic for her as she was going back to school and was getting a fresh start. Bobbie had been attending business classes both online and in-person at a local college in North Conway and was excited about opening up new doors for herself.
There are extensive financial reports from the divorce and recent court proceedings from Gary and his legal team advocating for the court to find Bobbie in contempt and asking that she pay $74,094.50 of what they said was her share of the tax liability plus interest and penalties cause by her late payment. Despite the divorce being finalized, there were still some financial matters that needed to be worked out. Gary had also asked for the court to award him $6,097.34 in legal fees for 17.9 hours of attorney time at $325 an hour. The contempt hearing was to be on November 4th.
Of note, one of the other properties that Gary owned was a camp in Acton, Maine. The Acton Fire Department had received a call at around 9:30 p.m. on October 29th, just two days before Bobbie’s murder and one day after she placed the houses in trust, about the small wooden house on the property that was on fire. Despite firefighter’s best efforts, the house burned to the ground. Although the circumstances around how the fire started are a mystery, it was determined that the cause of the fire was arson. Gary said that when the fire was being investigated, witnesses had seen a car with the lights off waiting in the neighborhood during the same time frame that the fire was believed to have been started.
After the murder, Gary had stated, “We talk about closure. We talk about justice. I think it falls on deaf ears for families or people that haven’t personally experienced it.” Gary as well as Bobbie’s brother Ken have expressed their suspicions that Bobbie’s son Jonathon killed Bobbie. Jonathan does have a criminal record, including felony burglary and an extensive history of various robberies, as well as a tumultuous relationship with his family. There have been ongoing court proceedings between Gary and Jonathon with Jonathon having filed and attempted to file several restraining orders against his father. While some have suspicions about Gary’s involvement with the murder, he has paid for billboards on Route 104 showing a photo of Bobbie as well as information about her murder and the phone number to call with tips. Gary also notably cooperated with the investigation, volunteered to do a polygraph test, had an alibi and continues to advocate for the case to finally be solved.
Bobbie’s family continues to advocate for justice for her and for her case to not be forgotten. Above is a recipe for “Bobbie’s Soup” from a website named for the soup that her family made about her and the case. They had written “Bobbie’s soup has surprisingly become a source of comfort for our family during this very difficult time, because it was the simplest things in life that made Bobbie smile - and she always had a smile on her face. We would like to share this recipe with you in hopes that you might share the joy for the simple things and smile in memory of Bobbie.” Bobbie’s mother, who created the recipe, is in her late 90’s and is hoping to see her daughters case solved.
Police are searching for any leads and are especially looking for information from anyone who may have seen or spoken with Bobbie between 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 31st, 2010, and 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 1st, 2010. There is a $56,000 reward funded by her family for anyone that provides information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible. Anyone with any information on the murder of Bobbie Miller is asked to please call the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at (603) 271-2663. You can also email coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov.
Image sources:
concordmonitor.com - “Remembering Bobbie Miller: 14 years after her murder, family seeking answers from investigators”
web.archive.org - Archived website for bobbiessoup.com