The Jerry Cassaday case, a chilling tale of online deception, murder, and suicide, unfolded in 1999 when a former police officer became ensnared in a manipulative internet affair with Sharee Miller, a married woman from Flint, Michigan. Miller, 27, used fabricated stories of abuse to convince Cassaday, 38, to kill her husband, Bruce Miller, 48, on November 8, 1999. Cassaday’s suicide on February 11, 2000, revealed evidence that exposed Miller’s lies, leading to her life sentence.
This landmark case, one of the first to showcase internet-enabled crime, is detailed in Bad Romance Season 2, Episode 7, aired on ABC on May 13, 2025, at 10 PM EST. Hosted by Ryan Smith and produced by ABC News, the episode features interviews with investigators, like Detective John Deering, and Cassaday’s brother, Chuck, exploring Miller’s use of sex, lies, and digital manipulation to orchestrate a murder, leaving two men dead.
Detailed Timeline of Bruce Miller Murder Case
(Early 1999): How did Jerry Cassaday meet Sharee Miller?
Sharee Mille met Jerry Cassaday in an online chat room. He soon fell for her, even telling his mother that Sharee was the woman of his dreams.
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) May 13, 2025
Watch the new BAD ROMANCE, featuring interviews from our initial reporting in 2021, on Tuesday at 10/9c on @ABCNetwork. pic.twitter.com/qGkcOZLnBo
Jerry Cassaday, working at a Reno casino after leaving the Kansas City police, met Sharee Miller in a Yahoo! chatroom in March 1999. Miller, married to Bruce Miller, claimed Bruce beat her, causing a miscarriage, and sent Cassaday nude photos and videos. She fabricated emails from Bruce’s brother, Don, alleging abuse, and claimed pregnancy with Cassaday’s child, later saying she miscarried.
Hotel receipts from the Red Roof Inn in Flint confirmed their April and June 1999 meetings, where they had sexual encounters. Miller’s 800 pages of emails and messages, recovered later, showed her urging Cassaday to view Bruce as a criminal threat, saying, “He’s dangerous, Jerry. You’re my only hope.” Her lies, including a fake Don Miller suicide note blaming Bruce, built Cassaday’s trust, binding him emotionally by July 1999.
(November 8, 1999): How was Bruce Miller Murdered?
On November 8, 1999, Jerry Cassaday drove from Missouri to Flint, following Miller’s instructions. At 5:30 PM, he entered B&D Auto Parts in Vienna Township and shot Bruce Miller once in the chest with a 20-gauge shotgun. Bruce found dead in a chair, had no defensive wounds, suggesting he was caught off guard. The coroner noted blood spatter indicating a 2–3-foot range, with death instantaneous from lung and heart damage.
Police found $2,000 and a .38-caliber handgun missing, initially suspecting robbery. Miller had described Bruce as an abuser linked to illegal deals, providing the shop’s layout and Bruce’s 5 PM closing time. She later emailed Jerry Cassaday a forged suicide note, supposedly from Bruce, stating, “I can’t live with my sins.” In 2010, Miller claimed, “I never thought Jerry would go through with it. I was playing a game.”
(February 11, 2000): What happened to Jerry Cassaday?
By January 2000, Miller told Jerry Cassaday she was seeing John Hutchinson, a married man. On February 11, 2000, Cassaday, consumed by guilt, shot himself in his Casselberry, Florida, apartment with a .45-caliber handgun. Found seated, with blood pooling beneath, his suicide note read, “I believed Sharee, but she lied. I killed for her, and she left me.”
A briefcase contained 800 pages of emails, instant messages, photos, videos, and fake notes, including Miller’s instructions and the Don Miller emails. His brother, Chuck, gave the evidence to Genesee County police. Forensic analysis verified the emails, showing Miller’s manipulation. In 2016, Miller said, “I feel responsible for Jerry’s death, but I didn’t pull the trigger. My lies pushed him too far.” The evidence redirected the investigation, proving Miller’s role in the murder plot.
(February–December 2000): The Investigation of the Bruce Miller Murder Case
Initially, police chased robbery leads, suspecting local thieves, but no evidence emerged. Cassaday’s briefcase, received in February 2000, shifted focus. Detective John Deering recovered deleted emails from Miller’s Gateway computer, showing her urging Cassaday to act. Forensic linguist Dr. Robert Leonard confirmed Miller’s authorship of the fake emails, noting unique phrasing. Phone records logged 76 calls between Miller and Cassaday from October 1–31, 1999, averaging 10 minutes each.
A 20-gauge shotgun, bought by Cassaday in Missouri, matched the murder weapon’s ballistics, though not found at the scene. Miller’s computer showed searches for “shotgun murder” and “cyanide poisoning,” with 12 hits from September 1999. No fingerprints tied Cassaday to B&D Auto Parts, but hotel receipts and a Flint gas station purchase on November 7, 1999, placed him nearby. This digital evidence, groundbreaking for 1999, led to Miller’s arrest on March 1, 2000.
(2000–2016): Conviction of Sharee Miller
On March 1, 2000, Sharee Miller was charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Her December 2000 trial in Genesee County featured the briefcase evidence, phone logs, and forensic findings. Prosecutor Michael Combs argued Miller used “sex and lies” to control Cassaday. Miller testified, “I was just flirting online. I didn’t mean for anyone to die,” but the jury convicted her in six hours, sentencing her to life without parole on January 29, 2001.
A 2008 appeal, citing Judge Conrad Sindt’s bias, won her a new trial, and she was released on April 10, 2009. In a 2010 20/20 interview, she said, “I was playing a game, and it got out of hand,” sparking outrage. The Sixth Circuit Court reinstated her conviction on February 2, 2012, returning her to Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. In 2016, Miller admitted, “I set it up for my husband to be murdered. I manipulated Jerry into believing Bruce was a monster.” She remains incarcerated with no parole eligibility.
Read More: Dateline’s: A complete timeline of events Idaho Student Murder case
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Hilfa, Senior Writer at Hilvaro, excels in pop culture journalism. She crafts engaging content on movies, TV, & trends, fueled by her love for storytelling & entertainment.
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