Viewer discretion is advised. Some may find this content disturbing. This is a documentary I found interesting.
Investigators suspect Eric Miller, a scientist at UNC's Lineberger Cancer Center, may have died in a rare case of arsenic poisoning.Arsenic used to be found in some pesticides and herbicides. It can still be found in rat poison.
"In small amounts, you wouldn't know you were being poisoned, you're chronically ill," Stopford says. "Often you have symptoms of a cold, sneezing, swelling around your eyelids. It lingers on and on and on. You just don't get better."
After a period of time, arsenic can destroy the body's vital organs and cause death.
"As you get at higher and higher levels, it acts as a poison. It poisons all tissues in the body," he says.
The Millers met in a biology class at Purdue University. Both were accepted into graduate programs at N.C. State University, relocated to the Triangle and married in 1993. Eric was a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, while Ann worked at GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park.
By 2000, the young couple owned their own home, had two cars and a boat, and had a baby girl. They even organized retreats for engaged couples at their church.
However, their marital bliss might have been a mirage.
In search warrants and affidavits, investigators said Kontz was having an affair with a co-worker, Derril H. Willard Jr., 37, who lived with his wife and daughter in North Raleigh. Investigators said the two had access to an arsenic compound in their laboratory.
On Nov. 15, 2000, Eric Miller, Willard and two of Willard's co-workers went bowling at the AMF Pleasant Valley Lanes off Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. Miller fell ill with flulike symptoms about an hour after drinking a beer that he complained was bitter; it had been bought and poured for him by Willard, investigators say.
Miller ended up in the hospital that night and stayed for a week, investigators said. He was so weak after he was released from the hospital that he had to use a cane to walk, according to neighbors. Doctors failed to diagnose the poisoning and thought their patient was suffering from some mysterious virus.
On Nov. 30, Eric Miller again became violently ill after eating a meal prepared by his wife. This time, doctors detected high levels of arsenic in his system.
Miller, 30, died after suffering for 2 weeks with a mysterious illness that stumped doctors until arsenic was discovered in his system shortly before he died.
4 years after her husband died, Ann Miller moved to Wilmington and married a Christian rock musician, Paul Martin Kontz.
After nearly 5 years of denials, Ann Miller Kontz pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the poisoning death of her first husband, Eric Miller. She was sentenced to between 25 years and 31 1/2 years in prison -- the maximum allowed for a person with no prior convictions.
Investigators suspect Eric Miller, a scientist at UNC's Lineberger Cancer Center, may have died in a rare case of arsenic poisoning.Arsenic used to be found in some pesticides and herbicides. It can still be found in rat poison.
"In small amounts, you wouldn't know you were being poisoned, you're chronically ill," Stopford says. "Often you have symptoms of a cold, sneezing, swelling around your eyelids. It lingers on and on and on. You just don't get better."
After a period of time, arsenic can destroy the body's vital organs and cause death.
"As you get at higher and higher levels, it acts as a poison. It poisons all tissues in the body," he says.
The Millers met in a biology class at Purdue University. Both were accepted into graduate programs at N.C. State University, relocated to the Triangle and married in 1993. Eric was a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, while Ann worked at GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park.
By 2000, the young couple owned their own home, had two cars and a boat, and had a baby girl. They even organized retreats for engaged couples at their church.
However, their marital bliss might have been a mirage.
In search warrants and affidavits, investigators said Kontz was having an affair with a co-worker, Derril H. Willard Jr., 37, who lived with his wife and daughter in North Raleigh. Investigators said the two had access to an arsenic compound in their laboratory.
On Nov. 15, 2000, Eric Miller, Willard and two of Willard's co-workers went bowling at the AMF Pleasant Valley Lanes off Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. Miller fell ill with flulike symptoms about an hour after drinking a beer that he complained was bitter; it had been bought and poured for him by Willard, investigators say.
Miller ended up in the hospital that night and stayed for a week, investigators said. He was so weak after he was released from the hospital that he had to use a cane to walk, according to neighbors. Doctors failed to diagnose the poisoning and thought their patient was suffering from some mysterious virus.
On Nov. 30, Eric Miller again became violently ill after eating a meal prepared by his wife. This time, doctors detected high levels of arsenic in his system.
Miller, 30, died after suffering for 2 weeks with a mysterious illness that stumped doctors until arsenic was discovered in his system shortly before he died.
4 years after her husband died, Ann Miller moved to Wilmington and married a Christian rock musician, Paul Martin Kontz.
After nearly 5 years of denials, Ann Miller Kontz pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the poisoning death of her first husband, Eric Miller. She was sentenced to between 25 years and 31 1/2 years in prison -- the maximum allowed for a person with no prior convictions.
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