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Research website by Alice de Sturler

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You are here: Home / Forensics / Remembering Gwen Vivian Miller

Remembering Gwen Vivian Miller

June 18, 2019 By Alice

Gwen Vivian Miller/RCPD
Photograph RCPD

Gwen Vivian Miller (Nov 4, 1907 – Feb 29, 1968) was murdered inside her home in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was 60 years old. She never married and had no children.

Gwen worked as a hospital pharmacist at the Bennett-Clarkson Memorial Hospital (now Rapid City Regional) in Rapid City.

Her colleagues went to her home when Gwen didn’t show up for work on Feb 29, 1968. They were afraid that she was sick. Gwen had diabetes.

She was found in bed and it looked as if she had died in her sleep. There were no signs of a struggle. When police arrived, they saw that the back window of her home had been smashed.

An autopsy showed that Gwen had been raped and strangled. Evidence was properly preserved and with modern technology DNA was retrieved. Forensic genealogy then gave police the lead that they coveted since 1968.

Eugene Carroll Field is responsible for Gwen Miller’s murder. Probable cause exists to arrest Field for first degree murder, however, Field passed away in 2009. Field (Feb 18, 1943 – June 18, 2009) had not been on the police radar as a suspect in this case before.

Eugene Carroll Field worked as ticket agent for Western Airlines at the Rapid City Regional Airport. He had rented a room in the house next door from Miller for some time back in 1963. His two ex-wives told police about abuse by Field. Field’s brother gave his DNA to police for comparison with the DNA found on Gwen. The certainty of a full sibling match was 99.23%.

On Find-A-Grave it is mentioned that Field was a previous resident of Peshastin, owner and operator of Ingalls Creek Lodge, and was survived by his daughter Tanya Field, and brother Gary Field.

The Rapid City Police Department has now closed Gwen’s murder file, and cleared the case by exceptional means. Law enforcement agencies must meet several criteria before a case can be ‘cleared exceptionally.’ The agency must

  • identify the offender,
  • find sufficient probable cause to arrest and charge the offender, and
  • encounter a circumstance outside the control of that agency that prohibits an arrest and charging of the offender.

The most recent developments in this case are the work of the RCPD’s Cold Case Unit. The unit was formed in 2014. It consists of one part-time detective: Retired RCPD Detective Wayne Keefe.

Rest in peace Gwen Vivian Miller.

Note: Hat tip to Pennington County 911 dispatchers who alerted me to the case and provided the photograph. Thank you all for serving!

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Filed Under: Forensics, Solved Tagged With: DNA, Gwen Vivian Miller, Rapid City, South Dakota

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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