murder in the divorce capital of the world

murder and divorce in nevada

Nevada offers the same lax residency requirements to obtain a divorce today as it did nearly 100 years ago – one only has to live in the State for six weeks before being eligible to file for divorce.  But not too long after Nevada gained a national reputation as the place to go for a quickie divorce, Las Vegas was the scene of a brutal public murder on the steps of a law office in a tale involving domestic violence, the death of a child, and a desperate insanity defense to avoid the gas chamber.

becoming the divorce capital of the world

Nevada was in the same dire financial straits as the rest of the nation after the 1929 stock market collapse, and its elected leaders were seeking ways to stimulate economic activity in the State.  Among the measures passed by the legislature in 1931 to accomplish this goal was reducing Nevada’s already short six-month residency requirement to obtain a divorce to a mere six weeks.  This resulted in the development of a booming business in Reno, and to a much lesser extent in the small desert town of Las Vegas, that offered six-week packages at “divorce ranches” where spouses could wait out the residency requirement in luxury.  Nevada saw a 101% increase in the number of divorces filed in 1931 compared to 1930 – and the law only went into effect for the last 3 months of that year. 

However, Nevada was still a “fault State” in those days – meaning a spouse seeking a divorce had to prove grounds such as adultery, extreme cruelty, or abandonment – but with the loosening of the residency requirements, Nevada courts developed a reputation for a fast-and-loose interpretation of the legal grounds for divorce, either by stretching the definition of “extreme cruelty” or refusing to delve too deep into a spouse’s claims of adultery. 

Despite this permissive view of divorce, Nevada courts were still inclined to take a more nuanced approach to divorce cases involving actual Nevada residents as opposed to those taking up temporary residency in the State.  This is due in large part to the fact the population of Nevada in 1930 was only 92,000 people, making it one of the least populated States in the nation.  Even Nevada’s largest cities were just small towns by comparison to the rest of the country. 

The small-town nature of Nevada meant that local courts often took into heavy consideration the reputations of the parties involved and had a greater interest in ensuring a full hearing. Plus judges in Nevada are elected, creating an additional incentive for local courts to avoid the appearance of rushing through cases where both spouses (and their friends and families) would be among those deciding whether to retain a judge come the next election.

marriage, the death of a child, and a separation

Ray Elmer Miller was raised and lived most of his life on farms in rural Nebraska at the turn of the 20th century.  Ray’s early life had been marked by tragedy - his father killed himself when Ray was a small boy and the scars from that suicide remained with Ray the rest of his life. In Ray’s mind, this traumatic action by his father later led him to commit an act of life-altering violence.

As Ray entered adulthood, a job as a truck driver led him to Las Vegas.  Ray quickly became a well-known local, working for various companies in the area.  Sometime in 1927, Ray crossed paths with Evelyn Potter, a Mormon girl from Mesquite – a tiny town near the Nevada-Utah border about ninety miles from Las Vegas.  Evelyn was only sixteen while Ray was eleven years her senior.  No one can be certain what ultimately led Ray Miller and Evelyn Potter to get married a year later, but Evelyn gave birth to their child, Peggy, in January of 1929. 

The Miller family was not a happy one.  By Evelyn’s account, she was subjected to frequent physical and emotional abuse from Ray.  For Ray’s part, he claimed that Evelyn failed to feed their baby while he was out on the road for work.  Disputes over the care of their child led to a heated argument over how to treat their baby after she came down with a fever, with Evelyn demanding they switch doctors while Ray insisted on sticking with their child’s current doctor.  Ray won the argument, but their child’s doctor was unable to save the infant. The Millers’ daughter passed away at five months of age due to an illness resulting from teething according to the attending physician. 

A succinct notice in the local newspaper from the Millers on July 4, 1929 read:

The death of their child caused an irreparable rift in the Miller marriage. The couple was still living together in Las Vegas at the beginning of 1930, but by the end of the year Evelyn had returned home to the family ranch in Mesquite where she resided with her parents and several siblings.  Evelyn took a position as a waitress at one of the local diners in Las Vegas to help make ends meet for her family.  At age 21, she had already been married, lost a child, and separated from her spouse.

A Separation and a campaign of harassment

Ray took up work at the massive federal construction project occurring a few dozen miles south of Las Vegas – Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam).  Photos of Miller appeared in regional papers about the Dam construction.  But work at the Dam was often dangerous – lax safety regulations, frequent use of dynamite for excavation, and steep cliffs leading to the Colorado River were just a few of the hazards facing workers.  These circumstances ultimately claimed the lives of 96 workers on the Dam and left countless others injured, including Ray Miller.   

After their separation, Ray became fixated on maintaining control over Evelyn and obsessively stalked her when she traveled to Las Vegas for her job as a waitress. In the days before restraining orders and anti-stalking laws, Evelyn was forced to become familiar with the creeping discomfort she felt every time she caught Ray coldly staring at her from his truck, where he sat parked for hours while he waited for her to leave work. The constant harassment Ray subjected her to culminated in a sadistic incident shortly before Evelyn finally decided to proceed with divorce.  Ray mailed his estranged wife a package in late-November of 1932 containing several items of baby clothes that had belonged to their deceased child. 

A BRUTAL SLAYING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

By late 1932, Ray was a man seething with an obsessive rage centered on his wife.  In the two years since their separation, Evelyn seldom broached the topic of divorce with Ray because each time she had, he would erupt and threaten to kill her if she dared to legally terminate a marriage which was already over in all but name. 

Despite Ray’s threats of harm, the cruel baby clothes incident was too much for Evelyn. On November 30, 1932, a legal notice no larger than an inch and a half in the local newspaper announced that Evelyn had gone through with finally dissolving the marriage:

As it turns out, Ray would ordinarily have spent November 30th at the Dam work site.  But he suffered an injury to his thumb the day before and decided to take off work that Wednesday to give his injured appendage time to heal.  At some point in the day, Ray flipped through the paper and came across news of the divorce filing.  The grounds for divorce were cruelty and failure to provide.  Ray decided right then that he would seek revenge. 

Ray woke up the following morning and told his employer he would again be taking off work.  The Clark County Sheriff’s Office had responsibility for serving legal papers, so Ray headed to the police station the morning of December 1, 1932, to see if Evelyn had left the divorce papers there for service.  The desk officer informed Ray that no papers had been left for him.  Ray thanked the officer and headed to his next destination.

Still seething, Ray drove a few minutes to a second-hand store where he purchased a .32 semiautomatic pistol and ammunition under the fictitious name of “James Ferguson.”  After returning to his truck to load the pistol, Ray took the last drive he would ever take to the Palace Theater Building in downtown Las Vegas.  The Palace Theater was a two-story building directly across from the Clark County Courthouse, with the first floor featuring a cinema, lounge, and diner while a suite of offices occupied the second floor.

Miller entered the Palace Theater sometime after 10 o’clock that morning and took a seat at one of the tables near the diner.  Then he waited.  Ray knew from the notice in the newspaper that the firm of Harmon & Foley represented Evelyn in the divorce case she just filed, and he also knew that the firm’s offices were located on the second floor of the Palace Theater Building. 

Less than an hour after Ray arrived at the Palace Theater, Evelyn walked through the main entrance.  As she made her way past the ticket booth she caught sight of her estranged husband – it had been some time since she had seen him face to face this close.  She walked past the man that had terrorized her since their separation without saying a word as she made her way to the stairs leading to her attorney’s office.

Evelyn startled at the sound of the first gunshot as a bullet struck the stairwell wall a few feet in front of her.  She turned her head to see Ray standing in the theater lobby aiming his newly acquired pistol directly at her.  Evelyn did not have time to react before a second shot rang out.  This round struck her in the lower back, then tore through her intestines and liver before coming to a rest in her abdomen, causing Evelyn to collapse on the stairs.

Ray pulled the trigger to send another round into his wife’s body – click.  He fumbled with the firearm in an effort to clear the jam.  By now several other patrons in the lobby had broken out of the shock from witnessing the cold-blooded shooting of Evelyn and leaped into action to prevent Ray from perpetrating any further violence.  Harry Miller (no relation) and Art Hamburger rushed at Ray and restrained him.  Ray was in an enraged emotional state as the two good Samaritans forced the gun from his hands, but this rage quickly subsided into stoic resignation, with Ray telling the two men holding him, “She knew what she was getting shot for.”

Police arrived within moments from the nearby station and placed Ray under arrest.  Evelyn was still alive, though in critical condition, and was rushed to the hospital where she was given a blood transfusion and underwent immediate surgery to repair the damage to her abdomen.

a talkative murderer: fate, revenge, and resignation

The attack on a young woman by a well-known local rocked the small town of only 5,000 people.  News of the shooting of Evelyn Potter traveled quickly to the offices of the local papers, and reporters were dispatched to conduct a jailhouse interview before the day was over – interviews Ray was happily obliged to give.

Ray accepted full responsibility for what he had just done in the lobby of the Palace Theater.   He even speculated that fate played a role in the death of his wife.  Referencing his thumb injury that kept him off work the day he learned about Evelyn filing for divorce, Ray said, “When I came into town and got to thinking about things, I made up my mind to kill her.  If I hadn’t hurt my thumb I would have been on the job as usual and she’d still be alive.  Funny how things work out.”      

A reporter inquired whether Ray had planned to shoot himself if his gun hadn’t jammed. He replied, “I should say not.”

Ray spoke frankly and had an air of casual resignation about what he had done. As Ray was unaware of the status of his wife’s condition, he told reporters, “If she dies, I’ll take what’s coming to me. If she lives, I’m willing to pay.”

When the reporters asked about the motive for the shooting, Ray gave what appeared to be a candid and superficially plausible explanation for his actions.  He had been brooding over what he believed was Evelyn’s role in the death of their infant daughter and the rage finally boiled over into a dramatic display of violence. By Ray’s account, he had been planning this terrible act for some time. “I had this thing all planned five months ago. I’d have shot her then but my brother interfered.”

But despite Ray providing the death of their daughter as the motive for the slaying, only a day after the murder Ray told local journalists, “I loved her. If only she loved me as much, everything would have been alright. But she seemed to delight in doing things that tortured me - just tore my heart out.” That sounds a lot more like a motive rooted in jealousy rather than revenge, and unfortunately for Ray Miller the local District Attorney was of a similar view.

Doctors and staff at the local hospital made their best efforts to save Evelyn’s life, but the young woman succumbed to the single gunshot wound to her abdomen within twenty-four hours of walking up the steps to her attorney’s office.  Ray Miller would now face capital murder charges.  Upon learning of his wife’s death, Ray told reporters from his jail cell, “She’s dead, the baby’s dead, and I guess it’s my turn now.”

Based on Ray’s statements to the press, it was taken as a given that he would plead guilty at his upcoming arraignment and throw himself on the mercy of the court to spare him a death sentence in the Nevada State Prison “gas house.”  Such a move would be rare in Nevada legal history at that time and not without risk – the last time someone plead guilty to murder and sought mercy from a Nevada judge was fifteen years earlier in Winnemucca, and in that case the judge issued a death sentence.  The city of Las Vegas waited to see whether District Judge William Orr would spare Ray Miller’s life.

INSANITY?

Ray Miller appeared before Judge Orr on December 12, 1932 in a frigid courtroom at the Clark County Courthouse, directly across the street from the site of the brazen daylight murder he had committed only twelve days before.  The room was packed with curious locals and reporters from papers across the region.  The sheer number of people in the courtroom helped raise the temperature over what it would have been on an ordinary day, but the dry winter air still left goosebumps on many an onlooker. 

“How do you plead?” the judge asked as he looked down from the bench at the mild-mannered murderer. 

“Not guilty.”  Ray answered.

The spectators in the room were shocked at this reversal from the man that only days before had in no uncertain terms expressed his willingness to accept whatever punishment may be coming his way.  Harry Austin, a prominent local attorney that had been appointed counsel for Ray a few days prior, then stepped in to inform the court that his client was unable to be held liable for the shooting by reason of insanity.

A panel of three local physicians and Judge Orr conducted a mental health evaluation of Ray over the following weeks to determine whether he was competent to stand trial.  The local paper’s opinion writers took issue with the delay caused by the need to conduct a competency hearing, but these hot-headed writers failed to understand the purpose of the competency hearing was merely to determine if Ray Miller understood the charges against him, not whether his insanity defense would be successful.

After several continuances, the verdict on Ray’s competency was delivered by Judge Orr. He was fit to stand trial for his deeds. Ray and his attorney started work on his defense, which evolved into the argument that Ray Miller had been driven temporarily insane by the death of his child, and as a result he shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for his actions in the lobby of the Palace Theater.

A VALENTINE’S DAY TRIAL – THE DEFENSE OPENS

The capital murder trial of Ray Elmer Miller commenced before a jury of Las Vegans on the morning of February 14, 1933.  The trial opened with the defense since Ray’s claim of temporary insanity shifted the burden from the prosecution.  Ray did not dispute the fact that he gunned down Evelyn.  In fact, Ray brazenly testified, “If my wife could be brought back to life, I’d do the same thing over under the same circumstances.” 

His claims of insanity rested on three separate premises.  First, Ray testified about the traumatic impact his father’s suicide had on him since his youngest years.  Next, the defense presented evidence of a physiological basis for insanity - Ray sustained an injury to his head and later came down with a case of syphilis, with each of those incidents allegedly causing changes to his personality.  Finally, Ray testified to his obsessive belief that Evelyn was responsible for the death of their infant daughter and that he felt compelled to seek revenge. 

Miller’s attorney was apparently quite persuasive in presenting an argument for temporary insanity.  But Clark County District Attorney Harley Harmon would soon have his chance to rebut the defense’s case.

AN AGGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR PURSUING HIS CLIENT’S KILLER

Harley Harmon had a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor, known for seeking the death penalty in most murder cases under his jurisdiction.  Harmon was also intimately familiar with the Miller case – in small towns such as Las Vegas local prosecutors were permitted to have side practices in civil litigation.  Evelyn was on her way to visit Harmon and his law partner at his office to discuss her divorce case the morning she was murdered.

It was day three of the trial as District Attorney Harmon approached the lanky killer sitting on the witness stand.  The D.A. asked Ray about a letter he had written to Evelyn where Ray admitted he “had said some terrible things” and that the separation had been his fault.  Harmon then asked, “Mr. Miller, wasn’t it your policy to hurt your wife as much as possible after the separation?”

“Yes,” Ray replied.

“That’s why you sent Evelyn a box containing baby articles not long before you shot her?”

“Yes,” Ray repeated.

Ray had testified earlier in the trial regarding Evelyn that “she caused the death of my baby.”  District Attorney Harmon took the young construction worker to task for this statement.  “Wasn’t your wife the one that wanted to change your baby’s doctor because she wasn’t happy with the care provided by the doctor in attendance?”

“That’s correct.”

After subjecting Ray Miller to nearly two hours of grueling cross-examination, Harmon asked the defendant, “Isn’t it a fact, Mr. Miller, that you saw you had this girl, whom you married in the little town of Mesquite when she was 17 years of age, trapped there on the stairway of the Palace Theater and you shot her in the back?”

“Yes,” Ray replied.  “I guess that’s true.”

Ray’s attorney attempted to rehabilitate his client, but the effort ceased upon Ray testifying, “I just couldn’t help shooting her.” After that response, Ray’s attorney informed the judge that he had no further questions for the witness.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS AND A UNANIMOUS VERDICT

District Attorney Harmon passionately argued that Ray Miller was in full control of his mind and knowledge of right and wrong at the time he gunned down Evelyn Potter, and that the only way to deliver justice for the community was to sentence him to death.

Harry Austin, counsel for the defense, presented an equally compelling case that his client should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.  He examined every aspect of Ray Miller’s testimony, drawing the conclusion that “his entire demeanor was that of an insane man.” 

The case was sent to the jury of twelve men at about nine o’clock on the evening of February 16, 1933.  It did not take long for the jury to conclude that Ray Miller was perfectly sane at the time of the shooting and should be found guilty of murder.  But it took two hours of deliberations and four ballots for the jurors to decide whether to hand down a life sentence or the death penalty. 

The jury filed back into the courtroom about half an hour before midnight.  Judge Orr asked the jury to recite their verdict.  The foreman, William F. Harrison, read the verdict with a quiver in his voice, “We, the jury, find this defendant Ray Elmer Miller guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree and fix his punishment at death.” 

Ray Miller sat stoically in his chair with one leg crossed over the other while the jury read the verdict.  The only slip in Ray’s emotionless demeanor occurred when he allowed a shake of his foot upon the jury announcing the death sentence.  

A LAST-MINUTE MURDER INVESTIGATION ON DEATH ROW

Though it was widely expected, Ray Miller did not choose to appeal his death sentence to the Nevada Supreme Court.  Judge Orr ordered that Ray was to be executed in the Nevada gas house in Carson City the week of May 7, 1933.  Ray continued with his removed demeanor as preparations were made by prison staff for his death in the gas chamber, which was situated directly across the way from his cell at the Nevada State Prison.  According to Warden Matt Penrose, the only time Ray displayed any sort of indication his imminent demise was weighing on his mind were a few bouts of nerves in the two weeks before his death date.   

Only days away from Ray’s execution date, an urgent inquiry arrived for Warden Penrose from Clark County.  District Attorney Harmon wanted closure on an old case he had come across during the prosecution of Ray Miller. 

In 1927, Ray was roommates in Las Vegas with a man named Stanley Montgomery.  Miller’s roommate died that year from a gunshot to his head from a single .22 rifle round – a death ruled a suicide after a coroner’s inquest at the time.  But given Miller’s recently discovered murderous disposition, Harmon had a series of questions regarding the death of Montgomery that he wanted the warden to press Ray on. Harmon had developed a theory that Miller killed his roommate in a jealous rage over a dispute for the affections of Evelyn – the young woman apparently had become infatuated with Montgomery at the same time Ray was pursuing her affections.  Another aspect of the Montgomery case that raised Harmon’s suspicions was the fact the victim had no powder burns to his head despite the cause of death being suicide.  

Ray accepted an invitation to Warden Penrose’s office at the Nevada State Prison where he calmly explained, as he had at the coroner’s inquest six years earlier, that Montgomery was prone to mood swings and suicidal thoughts, and that on two occasions Ray had to secure firearms in the home to prevent Montgomery from harming himself.  Apparently, Ray’s explanation of the circumstances surrounding Montgomery’s death was satisfactory to Warden Penrose and D.A. Harmon, and Ray’s execution would proceed as scheduled.

It remains an open question at to whether Ray Miller committed murder in order to win the hand of Evelyn Potter, only to murder her five short years later. Stanley Montgomery was in close proximity to Evelyn Potter in the time leading up to his death by virtue of being roommates with Ray. Given Ray’s long-running obsession with Evelyn and demonstrated capacity to kill, it is easy to imagine a scenario where he murdered her love interest, then played it off as a suicide while being there to help Evelyn through her grief.

It is possible that Ray’s convincing tale to the warden was the truth. But it is equally possible that the authorities had an interest in avoiding the opening of long-settled matters that might delay the execution.

AN EXECUTION AND A FAMILY’S FINAL RESTING PLACE SPREAD ACROSS NEVADA

Ray Miller had no special request for a last meal.  But the prison chef took it upon himself to whip up a fresh strawberry shortcake for the condemned man, which Ray ate the afternoon of May 7, 1933.  He spent the rest of the night playing solitaire in his cell. 

The “wife slayer” - as the local press referred to Ray - awoke before dawn the following day.  He was ordered to dress in his denim prison uniform and headed across the way from his cell to the gas chamber.  A dozen or so onlookers peered through the glass to capture a glimpse of the condemned man’s last moments.

Ray, strapped in a chair, held his breath for 30 seconds as the almond-scented fumes from the cyanide mixture filled the gas house.  Then he exhaled and breathed in.  If press accounts are to be believed, Ray slumped over in unconsciousness within a breath or two.  But then again, there is a reason Nevada moved away from using the gas chamber as a method of execution.

Ray Miller, who refused to notify authorities as to his family’s whereabouts to spare them knowledge of his crime, was buried in a lonely grave alongside other condemned killers on the grounds of the Nevada State Prison, where he continues to lie today. Evelyn Potter’s family made the ninety mile journey to Las Vegas to collect her body and return it to Mesquite, where she was buried in a family plot. And the couple’s infant child, Peggy Miller, rests amidst strangers at the Woodlawn Cemetery – a National Historic Site – near downtown Las Vegas.