Elderly Pa. woman found guilty of stealing from her husband and then fatally poisoning him

UNION COUNTY, Pa. (TCD) — A jury convicted a 78-year-old woman this week on charges related to the poisoning death of her 77-year-old husband in 2018.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced April 25 that Myrle Miller was found guilty of first-degree murder, theft by deception, forgery, insurance fraud, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and perjury.

On April 15, 2018, Pennsylvania State Police responded to a home on Lamey Road in Hartley Township, where they found the deceased victim, John Nichols, WOLF-TV reports. An autopsy and toxicology report reportedly revealed he died from an overdose of verapamil, a heart medication prescribed to his wife.

Henry said months before Nichols’ death, Miller “drained all of her husband’s bank accounts,” and “forged his signature on checks.” Miller reportedly “made herself the sole beneficiary on two of his life insurance policies” and “obtained loans against those policies.”

According to Henry, Miller was worried the fraud was about to be exposed, so she fatally poisoned her husband by mixing large amounts of their medications together in his coffee.

Shortly before Nichols’ death, Henry said a Union-Snyder Agency on Aging representative responded to their home to a report of financial exploitation. Miller became nervous her husband would discover the fraud and theft, and she reportedly told her son she would “handle it.”

One of Miller’s friends reportedly testified that Miller “was involved in multiple romantic conversations with men through Facebook,” and even claimed to be in love with one of them.

Miller’s sentencing will be scheduled at a later date, and she faces mandatory life imprisonment.

In a statement, Henry said, “The defendant was systematically emptying her husband’s bank accounts, and upon being found out, made the deliberate and intentional decision to kill him.”

Henry continued, “It is hard to fathom acts more cold, calculated, and self-serving, and while we cannot bring back the life of Mr. Nichols, we hope today’s verdict offers a measure of justice to his family and friends.”