Dorothy Miller
Dorothy H. Miller
48 YOA
118 Grand Street
Burlington, IA
Des Moines County
Case # 69-00950
August 18, 1969
Courtesy Des Moines RegisterDorothy H. Miller, a 48-year-old Bolick Realty saleswoman, was killed on Wednesday evening, August 18, 1969, in an unoccupied, two-story frame house at 118 Grand Street in Burlington, Iowa. Dorothy reportedly had an appointment to show a house in Burlington that day. When she didn’t return home that evening, her husband reported her missing the following day on August 19, 1969.
Dorothy’s body was found Thursday at the Grand street Burlington home, lying face down in an upstairs bedroom closet, partly disrobed and with her hands tied in front of her. She had been sexually molested and stabbed 23 times.
According to Police Inspector Jim Ewing in a Des Moines Register article dated August 21, 1969, the man suspected of killing Miller was seen in a local tavern about 4 p.m. the afternoon the murder occurred. Police said the murder took place sometime between 7:45 and 8:45 p.m.
Ewing said the man told Miller he was from the Des Moines area when he telephoned her for an appointment.
Police released a composite sketch describing the suspect as having dark hair, being about 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-11 inches tall, and weighing about 175 pounds.
Burlington police also searched for a black pick-up truck allegedly used by the killer.
When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in late 2009, Dorothy Miller’s murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology. Although the Cold Case Unit closed down in December 2011 due to lack of funding, the DCI continues to investigate the cases where progress already was being made. They also follow up on any new leads provided in these cases.
Anyone with information regarding Dorothy Miller’s unsolved murder is asked to contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, e-mail dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us, or contact the Burlington Police Department at 319-753-8375.
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