'It's time to heal': Families gather at 'Killing Fields' after sentencing decades in the making
LEAGUE CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Forty-two years after 16-year-old Laura Miller was killed, the man convicted in her death has been sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison.
For Miller's father, Tim Miller, and the families of other women whose remains were found in one area of the so-called Texas Killing Fields, the sentence brought a measure of justice they have waited decades to see.
"I feel that she's got justice," said Jane Villareal, Heidi Fye-Villareal's sister. "I hate to say this, but I hope he rots in jail."
After the sentencing Thursday, the families gathered at the field off Calder Road in League City where the remains of Laura Miller, Audrey Lee Cook, Heidi Fye-Villareal and Donna Prudhomme were dumped between 1984 and 1991.
"It's time to heal," said Tim Miller. "It's one of those chapters in my life that is now over."
James Elmore was convicted Wednesday of manslaughter in the 1984 death of Laura Miller. Prosecutors said Elmore mixed the cocaine for Clyde Hedrick that killed the 16-year-old and then helped Hedrick dump her body in the field off Calder Road.
Hedrick, who had long been suspected in Laura's death and the deaths of other women whose remains were found in the area, died by suicide in prison in March before he could be charged.
Elmore came forward to Tim Miller in 2022 with new information about the cases. Miller recorded their conversations, including video of Elmore driving him around League City and showing him where he said Laura's body had been dumped. Those recordings became evidence at Elmore's trial.
"I know it does not replace the people who have been lost, but at least there are some answers," said Katelyn Willis, who prosecuted the case alongside Adam Poole for the Galveston County District Attorney's Office.
During the punishment phase Thursday, Elmore's defense attorney asked jurors to give him credit for coming forward and providing information.
"My client's not all bad," defense attorney Bill Agnew told jurors. "I know it's easy to go back there and give him 20, but please give him some credit."
The jury instead gave Elmore the maximum sentence.
"It's not a father's job to work 42 years to solve his own daughter's murder, and I made that promise to Laura. I never quit," Miller said afterward.
Miller has spent more than half his life searching for answers about what happened to his daughter. During his victim impact statement, he showed compassion toward the man now convicted in her death.
"Unfortunately, you're going to die in prison," Miller told Elmore. "I hope you can find some peace."
The families later reunited at the Calder Road site. They hugged, knelt, and prayed at the memorials, their quiet celebration continuing even as a downpour moved through.
Elmore still faces pending charges of tampering with evidence related to Miller's and Cook's cases, as well as possession of child pornography stemming from images authorities allege were found when he was arrested. That trial is scheduled for October, and prosecutors say they plan to move forward.
Elmore could be eligible for parole on the manslaughter conviction in about 10 years. A child pornography charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Agnew declined to comment, but told the court he has already filed a notice of appeal.
