Netflix's Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields- What happened to Laura Miller?

Netflix's upcoming docuseries Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is ready to premiere on November 29, 2022, bringing forth the story of Laura Miller and three other young women who were all victims of an unknown criminal or criminals, suffering the same fate on a stretch of Interstate 45 that is now known as the "killing fields."

Of course, given the history of the 50-mile stretch between Houston and Galveston, the term has exceeded its definition to be associated with nearly all of the 30 murders that took place along the highway from 1971 to 2006. Laura Miller was one of the four victims found in the same rural patch of land that was originally called the "killing fields." All the victims were killed in a similar way and left in a similar way as well. The case took a significant blow as two out of the four women were not even identified until decades later.

Sadly, as of today, the case remains unsolved.

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Who was Laura Miller and how did she die?

Laura Miller was only a high school student when she disappeared. A Texas native, Laura disappeared in 1984, sometime after a disease interrupted her ordinary life. She was reportedly a bright student and had an aptitude for music. But things changed when she started having seizures and started underperforming in academics. She was also reportedly struggling with depression at the time.

On September 10, 1984, Laura Miller asked her mother to drive her to a payphone so she could call her boyfriend. It was a short distance from her home, and she decided to walk back. That was the last time she was seen alive by anyone. Her disappearance drew quite a buzz, and it took over a year before her remains were found in the Texas killing fields.

Initially branded as a run-off, police found her body in the killing fields in 1986 while investigating another case. Another woman found in the location remained unidentified for a long time. Recent advances in genealogy helped identify this woman as Audrey Lee Cook, a 30-year-old mechanic who frequented that stretch of road. A fourth unidentified body was also later identified due to genealogy.

Speaking about the crime, Lt. Gary D. Ratliff told The Post in 1999:

"What do you do when there are no witnesses and you recover a victim, weeks or months after the crime, and the physical evidence is all gone?...What do you say to the parents when all you have to go on are bones that critters have been at?"

Laura Miller's father, Tim Miller, could not accept this murder and the lack of evidence or convictions. Hell-bent on delivering justice, Tim made it his business to track down missing people. He soon founded Texas EquuSearch, an organization whose aim is to find missing people. He, along with his team of volunteers, has helped countless families since then.

The Texas Killing Fields remain a mystery to this day, with no leads or concrete suspects. Police do suspect a serial killer, but there is not nearly enough evidence to convict anyone.

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields will premiere on November 29, 2022, on Netflix.