UT - 3 women found dead in two separate locations, Wayne County, 5 March 2026

[Vaderman]

Stranded in Utah, 22-year-old killed three women for money and cars, prosecutors allege

An Iowa man is facing three charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of three women in Wayne County.

www.sltrib.com

Stranded in Utah, 22-year-old killed three women for money and cars, prosecutors allege​

Hitting an elk in Loa crushed Ivan Miller’s truck several days ago, investigators say, and left the 22-year-old stranded in southern Utah after he sold it to the company that towed it away.

Out of money after staying in a hotel, prosecutors allege, Miller headed to the tiny nearby town of Lyman, fatally shot an elderly woman in her home Wednesday and took her Buick Regal.

Then, because “he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle,” charges against him allege, Miller drove about 15 miles to the Comb Trailhead and shot two women — stabbing one when she continued to move — after they got out of a white Subaru Outback.

Miller, from Blakesburg, Iowa, was charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated murder, each first-degree felonies, for the deaths of the Wayne County women. Their names have not been released as of Thursday evening.

 

[Seattle1]

Triple homicide suspect admits to killing women for cars, money; dragging bodies

The suspect in the Wayne County triple homicide was charged with aggravated murder. He said he didn't like to do it, but that it "had to be done."Ivan Miller, 2

kutv.com

3/5/26

At approximately 2:45 a.m., Pagosa law enforcement had the suspect in custody and identified him as Miller.

He had a Rock Island brand 1911 model .45-caliber pistol with him, court documents state. Law enforcement also found him with financial cards belonging to the two women found dead at the trailhead.

[...]

After coming to Lyman, Miller said he stayed the night in a back shed where the woman in her 80s was later found.

He said he saw an "old lady" drive away in a Buick, so he entered her home, waited for her behind a door, and shot her in the back of the head with the 1911 while she was sitting down watching television

Miller said he cleaned up the scene the best he could, dragged her out to the shed, and further down into the basement, where he left her.

He said he grabbed his things and took the car, but "did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle."

He was parked when he reportedly noticed the two women in their 30s and 60s get out of a white Subaru.

[...]

He confessed that the killings "had to be done," but did not like to do it.

When asked what he did with the knife he used to stab the woman at the trailhead, he pulled it out.

 

[Seattle1]

Southeast Iowa man kills 3 women in Utah, authorities say

A 22-year-old southeast Iowa man with no apparent connection to the area or victims is accused of killing three women in Utah.Ivan Miller, of Blakesburg, Iowa i

cbs2iowa.com

3/5/26


The investigation started Wednesday afternoon when the bodies of two women were discovered by their husbands at a trailhead located just off State Route 12 in Wayne County.

Detectives found a third woman killed in a home in Lyman, which is about 15 miles away.

Authorities held a press conference Thursday announcing the arrest.

 

[Seattle1]

3/5/26

Authorities conduct an investigation at a home where a woman was found dead in Lyman, Utah, Thursday, March 5, 2026.

Suspect reportedly stayed in the victim's shed overnight, watching her until she left home in her Buick, and then waited inside her house for her to return, hiding behind a door. After he shot her and took her car, he decided he didn't like the Buick, and killed the other women at the trailhead for their Subaru.

https://www.cpr.org/2026/03/05/utah-killings-colorado-arrest-ivan-miller/

Authorities used license plate readers and vehicle tracking services to follow his path, from Utah through northern Arizona and into the mountain town of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado, where he abandoned the stolen vehicle, Roden said. The suspect was found after a short search, he said.

Roden identified the suspect as Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa. According to online jail records, Miller was being held on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. He was scheduled to make his first appearance in court in Colorado on Friday afternoon.

Miller is being represented by the Colorado Public Defender’s office, said Justin Bogan, who heads the office in the judicial district that covers Pagosa Springs. Bogan declined to comment further. Voicemail messages left at listings for possible relatives of Miller were not immediately returned on Thursday.

 

[Seattle1]

3/5/26

Iowa man who killed 3 Utah women said 'it had to be done,' charges say​

 

[Seattle1]

3/5/26

FULL BRIEFING: DPS gives update on 3 women killed in Wayne County​

 

[Vaderman]

When asked what he did with the knife he used to stab the woman at the trailhead, he pulled it out.

I think this is the first official mention I've seen on at least two of the causes of death.

 

[Seattle1]

3/5/26

‘Violent’ Man Kills 3 Random Women in Utah Mountain Mystery: Police​

 

[Magic8Ball]

Triple homicide suspect admits to killing women for cars, money; dragging bodies

The suspect in the Wayne County triple homicide was charged with aggravated murder. He said he didn't like to do it, but that it "had to be done."Ivan Miller, 2

kutv.com

He said he didn't like to do it, but that it "had to be done."

That is not the face of someone who didn't enjoy himself.
He's reveling in it.
Demonic. Absolutely demonic.

 

[GatorsNorth]

He didn’t need to kill those women to take money and their cars. MOO

 

[Seattle1]

I wonder if the two women discovered on the hiking trail were related/with one another.

Yes, the local women/victims were friends per the presser. The women's bodies were located by their two husbands who went looking for them when they were late returning from a day hike.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Iowa man who killed 3 Utah women said 'it had to be done,' charges say - East Idaho News

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally posted at 9:46 a.m. Thursday and has been updated. TORREY, Utah (KSL) — An Iowa man who shot and killed three Utah women at random, without warning, in southern Utah had no prior connection to his victims and no ties to the area, according to prosecutors...

www.eastidahonews.com

Snipped from article:

Iowa crimes​

Miller was scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to court records.

In that case, Miller was found inside a cabin at Lake Wapello State Park in Davis County, Iowa, on Dec. 31, according to court records. A state park ranger who was going to clean the cabin and prepare it for an arriving guest found it unlocked and noticed it looked like someone was living inside, as food and pans were seen, according to court documents.

“I went to check the bedrooms and found a fully loaded 7.62 x 54 bolt-action rifle with bayonet and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with scope and bipod, along with several loaded magazines and extra ammunition in boxes and loose ammunition in a bag,” the ranger wrote in court documents.
<snip>
A few months before that, Miller was cited by Alaska wildlife troopers near Bristol Bay for “operating a vessel not equipped with personal flotation devices,” according to a bulletin from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

__________________________


LE should be looking long and hard at whether he's responsible for any other unsolved murders across the country.
It looks like he had access to a boat, and it sure looks as if he's been roaming across numerous states.
This guy's a monster.
Total psychopath.

JMO.

 

[Mack the Knife]

I, like most of you, have a moral objection to killing people. I’m also a cautious person who believes that if I commit a felony, I’m likely to get caught and go to prison for an unpalatable amount of time.

So I try to put both of those things aside when I’m imagining what went on in some of these cases, and even then this is completely irrational. He was in a woman’s house, alone, and instead of just robbing her, he murders her and steals her car, apparently without otherwise taking her valuables. Then he decides he doesn’t like the vehicle that he lay in wait to get—he knew it was a Buick the whole time he was in the house!—so he murders two more people? Why did he want a car so badly? And why did he decide to murder people instead of just robbing them?

I assume that as charges against him progress, we’ll hear about drugs or mental health issues or both. 22 is the prime time for onset of psychological disorders in a young man.

 

[Lebowski]

Iowa man who killed 3 Utah women said 'it had to be done,' charges say - East Idaho News

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally posted at 9:46 a.m. Thursday and has been updated. TORREY, Utah (KSL) — An Iowa man who shot and killed three Utah women at random, without warning, in southern Utah had no prior connection to his victims and no ties to the area, according to prosecutors...

www.eastidahonews.com

Snipped from article:

Iowa crimes​

Miller was scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to court records.

In that case, Miller was found inside a cabin at Lake Wapello State Park in Davis County, Iowa, on Dec. 31, according to court records. A state park ranger who was going to clean the cabin and prepare it for an arriving guest found it unlocked and noticed it looked like someone was living inside, as food and pans were seen, according to court documents.

“I went to check the bedrooms and found a fully loaded 7.62 x 54 bolt-action rifle with bayonet and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with scope and bipod, along with several loaded magazines and extra ammunition in boxes and loose ammunition in a bag,” the ranger wrote in court documents.
<snip>
A few months before that, Miller was cited by Alaska wildlife troopers near Bristol Bay for “operating a vessel not equipped with personal flotation devices,” according to a bulletin from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

__________________________


LE should be looking long and hard at whether he's responsible for any other unsolved murders across the country.
It looks like he had access to a boat, and it sure looks as if he's been roaming across numerous states.
This guy's a monster.
Total psychopath.

JMO.

so he's been uninhibited and out of control for at least a few months now. I was wondering a little bit if he'd hit his head when he totaled his truck, but this timeline makes me dismiss that.

 

[Magic8Ball]

I, like most of you, have a moral objection to killing people. I’m also a cautious person who believes that if I commit a felony, I’m likely to get caught and go to prison for an unpalatable amount of time.

So I try to put both of those things aside when I’m imagining what went on in some of these cases, and even then this is completely irrational. He was in a woman’s house, alone, and instead of just robbing her, he murders her and steals her car, apparently without otherwise taking her valuables. Then he decides he doesn’t like the vehicle that he lay in wait to get—he knew it was a Buick the whole time he was in the house!—so he murders two more people? Why did he want a car so badly? And why did he decide to murder people instead of just robbing them?

I assume that as charges against him progress, we’ll hear about drugs or mental health issues or both. 22 is the prime time for onset of psychological disorders in a young man.

What makes these murders especially chilling is that they're not irrational in that he had a reason for committing them.
He needed to get back to Iowa for a court hearing on Friday for theft and burglary and he didn't have transportation.
So, what's a guy to do?
Kill random women, of course! Because he needed their vehicles. Or something.

It doesn't appear to be psychotic behavior. He didn't describe hearing command voices or having delusions.
A tow truck driver who interacted with him right before the murders said he was "just a normal person."
Nothing odd about his behavior or how he acted/spoke at all.

His monstrous actions appear to have been goal-directed.
He needed wheels.
These women had them. That's it.

What he's NOT admitting, but what is patently clear, is that he did not "have to" kill them.
As others have pointed out, he could have just stolen their cars.
He killed these women because he enjoys killing people.

This ain't going to have been his first rodeo.

JMO.

 

[Seattle1]

WHAT WE CURRENTLY KNOW


VICTIMS:

three women in their 30s, 60s, and 80s.

CRIME SCENE LOCATIONS:

C_o_c_k_s_ Comb Trailhead-- 30 & 60 yr old victims found by husbands in dried-up creek bed. The victims traveled to the trailhead in a white Subaru that was missing from the scene. A ranger with BLM said he found three spent .45 shell casings and one spent 20-gauge shotgun shell near the bodies, which appeared to have been dragged to where they were lying.

Lyman, Utah residence-- On 3/4/26, an 80 yr old victim was found dead in a cellar under a shed owned by the victim, after officers went to conduct a welfare check. The victim's Buick was found abandoned at the C_o_c_k_s_ Comb Trailhead.

SUSPECT:

Ivan Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa

Miller explained that he hit an elk in Loa, Utah, a few days before (the murders). He said he sold his truck to a towing company and stayed in an area hotel for a few days. (Story confirmed by auto parts store owner who picked up Miller after he totaled his truck).

THE MURDERS (As alleged by Miller, not confirmed by LE):

Miller reports he shot the Lyman victim in the back of the head with the 1911 firearm while she was sitting down watching television.

Miller further alleges he was parked in the Buick when he noticed the other two women in their 30s and 60s get out of a white Subaru.

Miller says he shot the younger woman in the chest area, and she went down.

Miller alleges he shot the other victim twice in the body area, but she was still moving, so he stabbed her multiple times in the "heart."

MOTIVE:

Miller said he killed the women because he needed money. He claimed that he intended to use the vehicle (white Subaru) to get back to Iowa, and had stopped in Pagosa to get gas.

Miller had a Rock Island brand 1911 model .45-caliber pistol with him, per court documents. Law enforcement also found him with financial cards belonging to the two women found dead at the trailhead.

 

[airportwoman]

Stranded in Utah, 22-year-old killed three women for money and cars, prosecutors allege

An Iowa man is facing three charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of three women in Wayne County.

www.sltrib.com

Then, because “he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle,” charges against him allege, Miller drove about 15 miles to the Comb Trailhead and shot two women — stabbing one when she continued to move — after they got out of a white Subaru Outback.

It appears that the word that got deleted is a synonym for "rooster's".

 

[truecrimel]

What makes these murders especially chilling is that they're not irrational in that he had a reason for committing them.
He needed to get back to Iowa for a court hearing on Friday for theft and burglary and he didn't have transportation.
So, what's a guy to do?
Kill random women, of course! Because he needed their vehicles. Or something.

It doesn't appear to be psychotic behavior. He didn't describe hearing command voices or having delusions.
A tow truck driver who interacted with him right before the murders said he was "just a normal person."
Nothing odd about his behavior or how he acted/spoke at all.

His monstrous actions appear to have been goal-directed.
He needed wheels.
These women had them. That's it.

What he's NOT admitting, but what is patently clear, is that he did not "have to" kill them.
As others have pointed out, he could have just stolen their cars.
He killed these women because he enjoys killing people.

This ain't going to have been his first rodeo.

JMO.

Agree with everything you said, especially your last line. I have a feeling this guy has done this before.

An otherwise normal person doesn’t wreck their car, get stranded, and decide murder is their way out.

He was inconvenienced, angry, low on cash. Instead of reaching out to anyone, making connections in the community, or legitimately trying anything - he thought this route would be easier.

He didn’t just steal. He stalked an elderly victim, waited until she was comfortable in her home with her guard down, and shot her. After he murdered her, he took off in her car to continue on his trip as planned. Like the murder was just a pit stop along the way and her life meant nothing.

He decided that the victim’s car wasn’t good enough to his standards, and again, feels inconvenienced. The moment he spots two other women in what he believed to be a nicer car, he again decided not just to steal - but to murder.

This person seems to have a serious issue with functioning in society. It seems like he takes his perceived inconveniences out on anyone nearby and feels no remorse about it. It would not surprise me at all if he has done something similar before, his behavior didn’t just escalate into this overnight.

JMO

 

[acutename]

What makes these murders especially chilling is that they're not irrational in that he had a reason for committing them.
He needed to get back to Iowa for a court hearing on Friday for theft and burglary and he didn't have transportation.
So, what's a guy to do?
Kill random women, of course! Because he needed their vehicles. Or something.

It doesn't appear to be psychotic behavior. He didn't describe hearing command voices or having delusions.
A tow truck driver who interacted with him right before the murders said he was "just a normal person."
Nothing odd about his behavior or how he acted/spoke at all.

His monstrous actions appear to have been goal-directed.
He needed wheels.
These women had them. That's it.

What he's NOT admitting, but what is patently clear, is that he did not "have to" kill them.
As others have pointed out, he could have just stolen their cars.
He killed these women because he enjoys killing people.

This ain't going to have been his first rodeo.

JMO.

he dragged all the bodies and hid them- all the people he killed were female. police (male) apprehended him without incident.

 

[Seattle1]

Iowa man who killed 3 Utah women said 'it had to be done,' charges say - East Idaho News

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally posted at 9:46 a.m. Thursday and has been updated. TORREY, Utah (KSL) — An Iowa man who shot and killed three Utah women at random, without warning, in southern Utah had no prior connection to his victims and no ties to the area, according to prosecutors...

www.eastidahonews.com

3/5/26

​

Iowa crimes​

Miller was scheduled to appear in an Iowa courtroom on Friday on charges of theft, burglary, marijuana possession and being ineligible to carry a gun, according to court records.

In that case, Miller was found inside a cabin at Lake Wapello State Park in Davis County, Iowa, on Dec. 31, according to court records. A state park ranger who was going to clean the cabin and prepare it for an arriving guest found it unlocked and noticed it looked like someone was living inside, as food and pans were seen, according to court documents.

“I went to check the bedrooms and found a fully loaded 7.62 x 54 bolt-action rifle with bayonet and a fully loaded Diamondback AR-10 .308 with scope and bipod, along with several loaded magazines and extra ammunition in boxes and loose ammunition in a bag,” the ranger wrote in court documents.

As rangers were investigating, Miller “came to the door, softly knocked, then immediately put his hands in the air and backed away. I stepped outside with Mr. Miller and recognized him from a prior incident. He told me, ‘It’s OK, you can arrest me now,'” the charges state.

Miller claimed he had picked the lock on the cabin a couple of days earlier “so he could get somewhere warm.”

A few months before that, Miller was cited by Alaska wildlife troopers near Bristol Bay for “operating a vessel not equipped with personal flotation devices,” according to a bulletin from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.