Key facts
- James Elmore Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter.
- Elmore was convicted for his role in the 1984 death of Laura Miller.
- Laura Miller's body was discovered in 1986 in the "Texas Killing Fields."
- Elmore prepared a vial of cocaine that led to Miller's death.
- Tim Miller, Laura's father, founded Texas EquuSearch after her disappearance.
- Additional charges of evidence tampering and child abuse imagery are pending against Elmore.
James Elmore Jr. has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in connection with the 1984 death of teenager Laura Miller. Miller's body was discovered in 1986 in the area known as the "Texas Killing Fields" near League City, Texas. Elmore, 61, was found to have prepared a vial of cocaine that led to Miller's death, according to the Galveston County jury.
Laura Miller disappeared in 1984, and her remains were found two years later along Interstate 45. The area has since become infamous for the discovery of over 30 bodies of young women, many of which remain unsolved. Elmore's conviction came after he contacted Laura's father, Tim Miller, in 2022, admitting he was present when she died. This led to repeated meetings between the two men and eventually Elmore's arrest.
Tim Miller, 79, founded the non-profit Texas EquuSearch in 2000 to aid in the search for missing persons, inspired by the lack of progress in his daughter's case. The organization has since helped locate hundreds of people. During Elmore's trial, Tim Miller testified, directly accusing Elmore of handing the fatal cocaine vial to Clyde Hedrick, a friend of Elmore's who investigators suspect was responsible for Miller's death and those of three other women. Hedrick died by suicide in March before he could be indicted in the case. He had previously been convicted of manslaughter in the death of Ellen Beason and was released on parole in 2022.
Elmore's attorney, Bill Agnew, maintained his client's innocence, but the jury ultimately found Elmore guilty. Elmore still faces charges of evidence tampering and possession of child abuse imagery, with a trial tentatively scheduled for October. The sentencing follows a guilty plea by Oklahoma inmate William Reece, who admitted to murdering two girls and one woman whose bodies were also found in the Texas Killing Fields.