Bio 

George James Miller Jr. was born on September 9, 1967. Miller had worked at the Central Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City. He worked there as a maintenance man for about two weeks, around one month before Kent Dodd was killed.

Dodd knew Miller, but he reportedly knew him by the alias Jay Elkins. This became important during the trial because investigators found what looked like writing in blood at the crime scene. Prosecutors argued that it may have shown the letter “J” and the name “Jay.”

Miller also had a prior criminal record. Court records mention earlier convictions, including first-degree burglary and robbery involving violence or threats. Other convictions, including escape, conspiracy to escape, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, were also discussed during sentencing.

Before the murder, Miller was reportedly short of money. Court records state that he tried to borrow money from several people the night before the killing. Prosecutors later used this as part of the robbery motive.

Miller told police he was home with his wife when the murder happened. However, his former wife later testified that he was not home and had taken her car keys. She also said some of his clothing disappeared after the murder.

Murder Story

On September 17, 1994, 25-year-old Gary Kent Dodd was working as the night auditor at the Central Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City. Around 3:15 a.m., he checked in a hotel guest. Soon after that, he was attacked inside the hotel. Dodd was stabbed several times, beaten with hedge shears and a paint can, and had muriatic acid poured on him and down his throat. About two and a half hours later, a housekeeper arrived for work. She noticed Dodd was not at the front desk and called out for him. She then heard moaning from an unused restaurant area and called for help.

Police found Dodd still alive. He tried to answer their questions, but most of his words were hard to understand because of his injuries. Officers understood him to say that his attacker was a Black man wearing gray pants. Dodd died later that day at the hospital from blunt-force trauma to the head.

The evidence against George James Miller Jr. was circumstantial. Bloody footprints were found at the scene, and Miller’s sandals could have made them, but the match was not exact. A tiny drop of blood on one of Miller’s sandals was consistent with Dodd’s blood, but it could not be proven as Dodd’s blood only.

Investigators also looked at Miller’s actions before and after the murder. The night before the attack, Miller had tried to borrow money from several people. The next morning, he gave his wife $120. Police later found that $122 was missing from the hotel cash drawer.

Miller had worked at the Central Plaza Hotel about a month before the murder. Dodd knew him by the alias Jay Elkins. At the crime scene, investigators found what looked like writing in blood. Prosecutors argued that it may have shown the letter “J” and the name “Jay,” possibly meaning Dodd tried to identify his attacker.

Miller was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors argued that the killing happened during a robbery and that Miller attacked Dodd because Dodd knew him and could identify him. Miller maintained his innocence, and the case was based mostly on circumstantial evidence. A jury convicted Miller of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. In 1998, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and sentence. Later appeals were also denied.

George James Miller Jr. was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on May 12, 2005. He was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. His final words were, “I love you.”