Long Island man accused of killing retired detective father in his home
DIX HILLS, Long Island (WABC) -- A man is charged with fatally shooting his father, a retired Suffolk County homicide detective and Wyandanch fire chief, in his Dix Hills home.
Christopher Miller, 43, pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Thursday in the death of his 75-year-old father, John "Jack" Miller.
Prosecutors said he gave a full videotaped confession, explaining he pointed and fired a shotgun into his father's head.
He first told the judge he was guilty by insanity before talking to a court-appointed attorney and later pleading not guilty.
Christopher was arrested after police responded to a home on Seaman Neck Road on Wednesday just before 7:30 a.m. after someone called 911 to report a man was hiding in their shed.
When officers arrived, they said they recognized the man as Christopher Miller after his father reported him missing on Tuesday.
It turns out Christopher had gotten into a car crash in Stony Brook on St. Patrick's Day. He then got into a fight with the other driver and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Back at home, when his son failed to return, his father reported him missing. Authorities located him in the hospital the next day and called his father, a retired detective, who took him home.
When the same Suffolk police officer who filed the missing person report took Christopher home Wednesday, he once again saw the father, but said this time he was dead on the kitchen floor.
Prosecutors say Christopher shot his father four times inside the kitchen.
"As somebody who is obviously going through something traumatic, and I don't know if it's psychiatric or some other health concern, but he's certainly going through something," said defense attorney Dan Russo.
Miller faces 25 years to life if convicted.
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