MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN-THE WILLIAM MILLER STORY: RODGER GILL IS BAILED OUT OF JAIL

Thursday, September 3, 2009

RODGER GILL IS BAILED OUT OF JAIL

1972 homicide suspect meets bail

September 03, 2009 6:35 PM
LINDELL KAY
A relieved and humble Rodger Gill bailed out of the Onslow County Jail late Thursday afternoon, happy to be somewhat free, but sad for the family of the man he is accused of helping to kill.

Gill, 56, posted a $25,000 bond with the help of Albritton Bonding Company in Kinston. He will be returning to Illinois, where he was arrested in January, over the weekend.

He is one of three former Marines charged with first-degree murder in the 1972 ambush shooting of Camp Lejeune Marine Sgt. William Miller.

Gill told The Daily News he was happy to out of jail and that he felt bad for the Miller family.

His attorney, Kinston lawyer Bill Gerrans said his client was prepared to testify for the state without the benefit of a plea deal and will still testify as to what he knows about the case since he was not involved.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson said he felt it was improper for a lawyer on either side of a court case to discuss the guilt or innocence of a defendant.

“That’s for the jury to decide,” he said.

Hudson previously expressed his unhappiness with Gill’s bond being reduced from $200,000 to $25,000 earlier this week.

Gill’s co-defendants, George Hayden and Vickie Babbitt, bonded out of jail after their arrests last year.

Prosecutors say Babbitt, who was married to Miller at the time, helped Hayden lure Miller to his death on Western Boulevard. Miller was shot in the back and head with an M-16, according to crime scene and medical reports.

Babbitt and Hayden — who became a local area police chief — were married and later divorced.

The District Attorney’s Office has recently filed for Hayden and Babbitt to stand trial together. A judge has not ruled on that motion yet.

Gill was a friend of Miller’s in 1972. He escaped the attention of the original detectives working the homicide but was dragged into the spotlight last year by a former fiancée who read about Miller’s unsolved murder in The Daily News. She told investigators that Gill was at the scene in September 1972 when Miller was killed.

“I did not shoot Bill Miller,” Gill told The Daily News in a statement earlier this year. “I was not involved in any plan or conspiracy to harm Bill Miller, nor did I participate in any such act. I have had no contact with Vickie Miller Hayden Babbitt or George Hayden in more than 35 years.”

5 comments:

Ryn RiddleSeptember 5, 2009 at 3:03 AM
Regarding: Rodger Gill bailed out of the Onslow County Jail late Thursday afternoon

I am so sorry to hear this news - I wish just once your family would get a break and find some justice when it comes to this case.

My heart just breaks into pieces when each new layer is peeled back and these monsters continue to roam free. The only healing we can all can count on knowing is they WILL get theirs in the end. They haven't met their final Judge. Our Lord Jesus, Our Father who art in heaven and I am certain they will also come face to face with Billy as well. Justice is mine sayeth the Lord.

My prayers go out to your entire family - my thoughts are with each of you.
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RodgerfanSeptember 5, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Ryn Riddle,

I also hope the Miller family gets their break, but it is also about time the Gill family got one. I think before you refer to Rodger as a monster you might want to know all the facts. Do you know what his involvement in all this was? Do you know what evidence they have on him? Well if you do, I wish you would share, cause he himself is not even sure of that. I believe Rodger is free because that is where he deserves to be and end the end, the truth will prevail. I just hope the name calling holds of til the guilty are convicted.
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AnonymousOctober 12, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Rodgerfan,
As you mentioned I hope the Miller family gets closure, that's forsure, 37 years is a long time to wait.
On the other hand Roger Gill was free for 37 years and William Miller has been dead for 37 years, he paid with his life. So, I believe Mr. Gill was free long enough and now it's time to pay the piper. Your right on one thing, the truth will prevail.
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AnonymousNovember 15, 2009 at 11:06 AM
God be with all. I cant wait for the truth
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AnonymousJanuary 8, 2010 at 9:51 PM
I would first like to say that I feel very sorry for all that this family has had to go through. 37 years is a very long time to seek justice for anyone not alone someone that close and dear to your heart. However, I don't feel that it is ok to judge someone that you don't know and I can assure you that I don't feel that Roger Gill could have done anything wrong in this. I have known him all my life and that is not the kind of person he is. I know that they always say that it could be the person that you are closest to but in this case there is no way. I don't understand how anyone can judge someone that they don't even know. I wonder if this happened to them on anything how they might react or what their family might have to go through. Who knows you could have been standing right there beside someone last night or last year or even many years ago that got into a fight with someone else and just witnessed it and one of the people could have died as a result of it and then what even though you didn't know until later that the person was dead so now you should go to jail, right? I bet if it was you that you would surely not feel the same way. Maybe everyone should think before they speak and hear everything and all of the facts before they convict someone of a crime before they have even been given a fair chance to prove their innosence. Grow up people and live your own lives and don't judge people who may be innocent. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty???? In this world I guess it should be guilty because your name was brought up. I'm sure we have all been brought up in an argument or something where our names shouldn't have been. No one really knows the facts here. Lets sit back and let it go to trial and in the end the jury and God will be the judges!
Just so that the Miller family knows that I really do hope that you get the people that are involved in this and I do hope that justice is served full force because I couldn't imagine this being my brother or anyone close to me for that matter. My thoughts and prayers are with you!!!
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AS A VICTIM, ALL I WANT IS TO BE TREATED AS GOOD AS THE CRIMINAL

SPIRITS

SPIRITS BY Lisa-
A friend of Tamara wrote the following poem after seeing our blog. She understands the grief, as her father took her mothers life and his own when she was a teen. Bless her.

I believe no one ever really dies, our spirits float to heavenly skies. Within our hearts their life shall dwell, with cherished memories for us to tell. We can see them in the family face, God's chain of life we must embrace. For they are gone but have not truly died, For through our lives their spirits glide.

FOR WENDY, TAMARA AND KIMBERLY

FOR OUR DADDY
Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow. Today was "Daddy's Day" at school, and she couldn't wait to go. But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home. Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone. But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say. What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today. But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone. And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home. But the little girl went to school eager to tell them all. About a dad she never sees a dad who never calls. There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet. Children squirming impatiently anxious in their seats. One by one the teacher called a student from the class. To introduce their daddy as seconds slowly passed. At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare. each of them was searching, for a man who wasn't there. "Where's her daddy at?!" she heard a boy call out. "She probably doesn't have one," another student dared to shout. And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say, "Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day." The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom. and looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on. And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak. And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique. "My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away. But I know he wishes he could be, Since this is such a special day. And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know. All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so. He loved to tell me stories he taught me to ride my bike. He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite. We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone. And though you cannot see him. I'm not standing here alone. Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart" With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest. Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress. And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears. Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life. Doing what was best for her, doing what was right. And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd. She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud. "I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star. And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far You see he was a Marine and died just this past year When bad people hurt him and taught my family to fear. But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away." And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day. And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise. A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes. Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside. Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side. "I know you're with me Daddy," to the silence she called out. And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt. Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.. But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose. And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star. And given the gift of believing that heaven is never too far They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire lifetime to forget them.

TO ALL WHO ARE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIMES WITH CASES GONE COLD

We welcome all viewers to our blog and invite everyone to leave their thoughts and comments. If you’re leaving a comment on our blog and want to point to a link on your own or someone else’s site that is relevant , then please feel free to do so., This adds to the conversation and improves the blog.

The victims of cold cases are called "The forgotten Victims"
As it is now, agencies do not have the funds or man power to dedicate to these cases. Countless families are experiencing the grief of not knowing where their loved ones are or having a loved one murdered and no one brought to justice for closure.

I am here to beg for these families, my family’s lives were forever changed , as are all families of the victims. I have spent half my life pursuing justice for my brother, when I would call the agencies, they would state that the case was open, but no one working it at the time. Families are struggling for closure, "They are NOT the forgotten victims"

Help me in fighting the fight, Billy’s story is proof that you should never give up, write to your senators and congressmen; ask them to help agencies, to provide more funds and manpower for cold cases, they are in terrible need. Cold cases are put on a back burner - Houston just stated in the news that they have no funds for Cold Cases, this is a disgrace! Continue your fight, don't take no for an answer!
Someone out there saw or heard something, your time will
come, after all, it took us 36 years.

www.ColdCasesGroup.com

A SENSELESS MURDER EFFECTS COUNTLESS INNOCENT VICTIMS

MURDER THE ULTIMATE SIN ONE CAN COMMIT AGAINST THEIR FELLOW MAN

Our family, who has experienced the violent death of a loved one, has been forever changed into a ‘new normal,'" "We can never go back to how things were, we have to integrate this tragic loss into our lives and move on without our loved one.

Do not say we will have closure, closure is a word better suited for roads, for repairs or doors. It applies to factories and retail stores, which there have been too many recently, but it's a bad fit for murders and its victims.

This story proves miracles still happen:36 years after William's death, two people are arrested and sitting in Onslow County jail, thanks to Sherriff Ed Brown, Detective Hardy and NCIS, they all worked together for this result. The person accused of firing the shots was a fellow Marine at the time and a personal friend, who went on to retire from the Marines and become a Police Chief. What a disgrace to Proud Marine brothers, shooting a defenseless man in the back, that really took guts! This marine that he shot, served two tours of Viet Nam, had two brothers David and Charley, also Marines serve in Viet Nam and a dad Bill who served in IwoJima as a Marine. A proud family of Marines. Justice will be carried out for these two cowards.