BIG SANTEETLAH
Agent death is ‘homicide’
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Some 18 months after a former FBI agent was found deceased in a Graham County creek, a pathologist has made a ruling about the manner of death.
Authorities initially deemed the death of Kathleen Polce Miller, 60, as “suspicious,” upon the discovery of her body face-down in Big Santeetlah Creek on Oct. 7, 2019. A pathologist recently defined Miller’s manner of death as “drowning by homicide,” Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp said.
Crisp indicated that the investigation is still active, as meetings are being scheduled with the U.S. Attorney’s Office concerning the case.
In a statement at the time, Kathleen’s husband Greg initially discovered his wife in the creek after leaving their campsite to use the restroom. The creek measured a scant 22 inches in depth at the site of the drowning.
With no cell phone coverage in the area, Greg ran to the roadway to flag down a passing motorist, with the initial call to emergency personnel coming in at 5:17 p.m. He was the last known individual to see Kathleen alive.
The FBI – under pressure by Kathleen’s co-workers – finally assigned an agent to help investigate the circumstances surrounding Kathleen’s demise in November 2019. Through multiple interviews with various agencies, Greg has continually made conflicting statements about what transpired.
The Millers lived in Huntsville, Ala. After Kathleen’s death, neighbors of the couple later received what proved to be fictitious notices from the “Huntsville Police Department” asking for tips on Kathleen’s death. The only correct information on the notices were the phone number to the police department.
TALLULAH
Area death ‘suspicious’
Graham County officials are still actively investigating the death of 30-year-old Megan Marie Vaughn as “suspicious.”
Vaughn was at a residence on State Shed Road in the late hours of April 6 when she incurred fatal injuries from a knife. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday to determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted, accidental or administered by another person.
Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp said Friday that while awaiting autopsy results, the office will be initiating another round of interviews this week in hopes of shedding more light on the incident.
According to Vaughn’s Facebook page, she was a resident of Jacksonville and is from Lebanon, Va. Local officials confirmed that she has lived in Graham County for several years.
FRANKLIN
Man admits sexual abuse
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District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said a local man admitted this week in court to sexually abusing a child. He will serve at least nine years in prison.
Michael Bruce Thompson, 52, pleaded guilty in Macon County Superior Court to attempted first-degree statutory sex offense and taking indecent liberties with a child. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bill Coward ordered Thompson serve a minimum sentence of 108 months up to a maximum sentence of 190 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections.
Additionally, Thompson will be listed for 30 years on the publicly available and searchable North Carolina sex-offender registry. Welch said Thompson molested a child between Nov. 1, 2018, and May 13, 2019. A separate incident took place on May 15, 2019.
ASHEVILLE
Man guilty of child abuse
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A Buncombe County man pleaded guilty April 6 to two counts of first-degree statutory sexual offense and four counts of indecent liberties with a child, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.
Nathanial Shane Lewis, 44, of Buncombe County, will serve 190-288 months in prison. Senior Resident Court Judge Bradley B. Letts also ordered Lewis be placed on three years of supervised probation when released.
“After a long and difficult year with the pandemic, jury trials have resumed, and my office has prioritized our older and more serious cases,” Welch said.
With a jury available for the resumption of trials, Lewis entered the plea: He’ll spend at least 15 years and 10 months, and as much as 24 years, in prison.
In open court, Lewis admitted he had inappropriately touched and molested a minor child on four separate occasions during the second half of 2016.
“Children are among our most vulnerable,” Welch added. “My office will continue to aggressively prosecute crimes against children in the 43rd Prosecutorial District.”
From staff reports.