Disputes among neighbors are fairly common, although they rarely escalate to a dangerous level. But in an Abilene neighborhood, about 150 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas, one man was shot to death in a bitter dispute.
His wife filmed the argument, not knowing that she would be capturing her husband’s murder. What she caught on camera served as evidence for the Abilene police.
*Continue Reading for Video at The End* (Warning – Graphic Content)
Argument Among Neighbors
What started as a dispute among neighbors over where to dump trash in an alleyway, escalated to an unfathomable level. On September 1, 2018, John Miller, 67, and his son Michael Miller, 31, got into a confrontation with their neighbor, Aaron Howard, 37, over a box spring mattress in a shared alleyway.
Caught On Camera
Howard’s common-law wife, Kara Box, filmed the heated encounter and later released it to local news outlets because, as she told KTXS-TV, “People deserve to know what actually happened.” When the video begins, John and Michael Miller are standing by what looks like a box spring mattress.
That Escalated Quickly
The father holds a handgun in his right hand, while his son stands behind him, with a shotgun over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, you’re going to jail,” Howard yelled, before walking toward John Miller. “I’m right … here,” he said. “Back off,” John Miller said. “If you come closer to me, I’m going to kill you.”
The Video: Part One (continue reading for part 2)
Confrontation
Howard replied saying, “You pulled a gun in front of my kids over a … mattress.” He also repeatedly threatened to kill the Millers, according to his wife’s video. Soon, the confrontation escalated as both curse each other out and made threats.
Protection
At some point, someone went inside Howard’s home and brought out a baseball bat. “If you come within 3 feet of me, I’m going to kill her,” John Miller told Howard. Box then stepped in and said, “You’re not going to shoot my husband.”
Threats
That’s when Howard yelled to John Miller, “Come on, shoot me. You’re dead. Point it.” Just as he got the words out, two gunshots rang out and the video captured the horrifying sound. After a brief moment, more gunshots were heard.
The Video: Part Two (continue reading for part 3)
Shot Dead
By then, the phone video got shaky as Box realized her husband had actually been shot. She cried out “Aaron? Aaron!” as she ran towards her husband, whose lying on the ground. Howard wound up dying immediately from at least two gunshot wounds, according to police.
Charges
In a press conference on the day of the shooting, Abilene police Chief Stan Standridge said the Millers have been arrested on murder charges. In a statement posted on Facebook, Standridge said, “When the first shots fired Aaron had a bat in his hand and was approximately seven feet from John Miller, who was closest to him.”
Tragic Scene
“When Michael Miller discharged his shotgun and John Miller fired the final two rounds from his pistol, Aaron Howard was unarmed,” the statement said. “As soon as (Howard) raised the bat while approximately seven or more feet away from John, John shot him.”
Statement
In a statement, a detective revealed that the Millers were “tired of their neighbor, Aaron Howard, acting out and yelling and threatening them verbally, prompting them to bring out their firearms.” The detective was able to determine this based on Box’s footage and in interviews with the suspects.
The Video: Part Three (continue reading for part 4)
Bonds
Both Michael and John Miller immediately posted initial bonds of $25,000, which Standridge said was “a great concern to both myself and our community.” Shortly after, the Millers were taken into custody again after a court reviewed their bonds and raised them to $250,000 each.
Attorney
When CNN reached Michael Miller to discuss the incident, he declined to comment. But when asked if he had an attorney, he said, “We have an attorney, but I’d rather not divulge his name at this time. … We have not entered a plea, and I don’t want to say anything else.”
First-Degree Murder
Online jail records reveal that the Millers faced charges of first-degree murder. But the Taylor County Criminal Court clerk told CNN that they had not yet been formally charged. After releasing the horrifying video, Box told KTXS-TV, that people “deserve to know John and Michael Miller are murders.”
Evidence
District Attorney Jim Hicks said of the footage, “Video evidence like this is always graphic and very difficult to watch. But, it is consistent with the charges.” When KTXS reached out to Box a week after the murder, she didn’t have a message for the Millers. But, then that changed. “You [the Millers] deserve to spend your lives in prison,” said Box.
Next-Door Neighbors
Since her husband’s murder, Box has moved out of her home on Don Juan Street in Abilene, Texas. Box told the Star-Telegram that they had moved to that Abilene home in April, but they had never talked to the Millers until the morning of September 1. The Millers were next-door neighbors.
Over A Mattress
“We had thrown out a twin mattress in a dumpster in our alley a few days before the shooting,” Box said. “You have to have the mattress in the dumpster or they will not haul it away.” Then, on the morning of September 1, Box and Howard were in the backyard when they saw the mattress was on their property. Howard tossed it back in the dumpster.
Dispute
Box said that’s when John Miller came to the alley, pulled the mattress out of the dumpster and tossed it back on Howard’s property. Howard told Miller to put it back in the dumpster, then Miller cursed at Howard and told him he wasn’t going to do that. “That’s when John (Miller) pulled a pistol out of his shorts,” she said.
“Pappa Bear Mode”
Box explained that her nieces and nephews had been with them in the backyard. “Aaron goes into pappa bear mode,” Box said. “A man has just pulled a gun on his wife, his brother, his nieces and nephews.”
In The Cross-Fire
As tempers flared, Box said she stepped in between her husband and John Miller. Howard’s brother then handed him a baseball bat, but he never swung it, according to his wife. After her husband was shot, Box ran over to him thinking for a second that he was going to be OK. “But he didn’t make it,” she said.
Almost Getting Shot
She even shared that John Miller walked up to her and put the handgun to her head, yelling at her to get on the ground. At the same time, she said Michael Miller went over to Aaron’s brother and placed the shotgun on his head, ordering him to the ground. Thankfully, for their sake, police arrived a few minutes later responding to a report of guns being fired. While Box has moved out of the neighborhood, she still remains in Abilene.
