Perry Steven Miller was a former bakery delivery driver whose route included his victim’s place of work. The defence called his parents, a social worker, and friends to testify to his non-violent and sensitive nature.
[Updated: 7th September 2024]
Christel Helmchen
At only 19 and living in Indiana, Christel dreamt of becoming a teacher. But to afford the tuition, she needed a job and took employment at the convenience store come restaurant in her hometown of Valparaiso. This was where she was abducted from on the night of November 4th, 1990, in her own car. Bound and gagged, she was spread-eagled on a cross made of timbers and brutally raped, stabbed, and eventually killed with a sawn-off shotgun.
The Investigation
Once the scene was closed off, officers found blood-covered building materials which they sent for testing. Footprints that could have casts taken as well as tire marks left at the scene. They discovered that at least two vehicles had been at the scene and one was the victim’s own vehicle. They sent the body to undergo autopsy and collected hair and blood samples. Then the interviews began. And they didn’t take long to find Christel’s car. It seemed that the perpetrators had dumped Christel’s car before stealing a second for their escape.
Investigators uncovered evidence of a well-planned abduction and suspected that the ringleader had a criminal record.
The authorities apprehended William Harmon and Rodney Wood in the stolen truck and brought them in for questioning. Wood was eager to talk. Accusing Harmon’s stepfather, Perry Steven Miller, of planning the whole thing.
Upon bringing Miller in for questioning, they discovered that he had also been paroled for a kidnapping, sodomy, and rape in 1988, serving almost 20 years in prison.
Perry Steven Miller Admitted his Guilt in 2001
Miller then beat her with a 2 X 4 and stuck her with an ice pick in the thigh and breast. –murderpedia.org
Until 2001, Miller had maintained his not guilty stance. And his attorney told the court Miller was at home during the incident and that his wife would confirm it. She said that she had rung their house from her work and there was no way Miller could have committed the crime and been back in time to take that call.
A clerk testified that Miller tried to purchase deer slug ammo the day before the incident, but the hardware store had been out and he’d got angry when asked what he wanted to shoot.
On June 2nd, 1991, they sentenced Perry Steven Miller to the Death Penalty but did not set an execution date. He also received a 220-year prison sentence for the related convictions of rape, robbery, criminal confinement, and deviate conduct.
His admission of guilt in 2001 saved him from the death penalty but resulted in a 138-year sentence. Perry Miller will not be eligible for parole until he was 112.
P.S. I first saw the story of Perry Steven Miller in Headquarters Detective (September 1992) written by Howard and Mary Stevens. As you can see, I have a few of these magazines kicking about, so if you’re missing any, let me know which ones.
Could he be responsible for more?
Decide for yourself, Janis Thornton, the author of Too Good a Girl: Remembering Olene Emberton and the Mystery of Her Death, recently reached out to share her personal connection to the case. Could Perry Steven Miller also be the perpetrator in this case from 1965? Read Too Good a Girl and see what you think. Maybe you will see connections that have previously remained elusive.
Horror and Fantasy Author – Also writing as K.T. McQueen. Love Western Horror, cowboy boots, my cactus Collin, & my Demon Cat.
Moths – I hate moths, the way they flutter at your face!
