Judge: 'Execution-Style Murder' in Healdsburg Area Fatal Shooting Case

A Sonoma County judge decided Thursday that Jarrod Miller, 29, will stand trial for killing saying the evidence presented at Miller's preliminary hearing suggested an "execution-style murder."

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Arthur Wick made the statement at Thursday's hearing after listening to testimony of three witnesses. Those included a friend of who was shot to death on March 8.

John Ross Parent, a friend of Neuer's and Neuer's girlfriend Amanda Miller, testified he was at the couple's home on Alexander Valley Road when Neuer was murdered. Parent, under direct examination by Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Scott Jamar, told Wick he saw Jarrod Miller, Amanda Miller's brother, fire the third of three shots.

During a lengthy and emotional testimony, Parent told the court that he made a social visit to the couple's home on the evening of March 8. Parent said he and Neuer had been friends since childhood.

Parent said he was shaving Neuer's hair in an upstairs bathroom when Jarrod Miller arrived at the house and was greeted by his sister, Amanda Miller. Amanda Miller brought her brother upstairs and sat with him in a living room immediately down the hallway from the bathroom, Parent told the court.

Parent said he recalled Jarrod Miller walking near the bathroom doorway and telling Neuer calmly, "I just want to talk to you, come out and sit down."

Parent said Neuer appeared aggravated and initially resisted Jarrod Miller's request, but eventually walked out into the living room.

An argument ensued, ending with Neuer demanding that Jarrod Miller leave his house, according to Parent. Then Jarrod Miller allegedly shot Neuer three times.

Parent said the angle from the bathroom entrance was such that he could see Neuer but not Jarrod Miller when he heard the first two gun shots.

He testified Neuer froze after the first "firecracker" sound, and that he clutched his torso after the second one and fell to the ground.

At that point, Parent said he walked across the hallway into the living room, where Amanda Miller was screaming and had wrapped her brother in a "bear hug" in an effort to restrain him.

Parent said Jarrod Miller "threw her to the side," then stepped forward and, standing four to six feet away, shot Neuer a third time. Parent said he then retreated back into the hallway and heard Jarrod Miller leave the house.

When he came back out, "Mandy (Amanda) was crying hysterically and went to check Tim's pulse," Parent said.

Thursday's other two witnesses were Sonoma County Det. Brandon Cutting, an investigator with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, and Tim Dempsey, a Sonoma County District Attorney investigator.

Cutting testified that a police officerafter pulling him over on Redwood Highway near Windsor found a case in his truck that had a make and size that matched the pistol Miller allegedly used. He said the officer also found a receipt that indicated the gun was purchased on March 5 -- three days before Neuer was killed.

Investigators have said previously that Miller tossed the gun itself from his car near the spot he was pulled over, and that officers later found it near the side of the road. 

Dempsey's testimony consisted mostly of information he collected from a coroner's autopsy of Neuer. According to Dempsey, the autopsy indicated bullet entry wounds to the head, stomach and thigh. Demsey said that, although the autopsy did not determine the order in which the different wounds were inflicted, the head wound was the fatal shot and likely killed Neuer immediately. 

All three witnesses were called by prosecutor Jamar, although Miller's defense attorney, Joe Bisbiglia, also later called Cutting as a defense witness.

Cutting had testified earlier that Amanda Miller told detectives that Neuer grabbed his body and voiced a single word immediately before he fell to the floor, which Bisbiglia said indicated that the head wound was caused by the last shot.

Bisbiglia said in his closing argument that the firing of a non-lethal shot, followed by a struggle between the shooter and Amanda Miller, suggested that the homicide wasn't premeditated and may have been inadvertent.

Jamar contended there was "more than ample evidence to support murder in the first or second degree." Wick said he agreed with Jamar.

Wick set a Nov. 14 date for a pretrial filing of information. It was not immediately clear when the trial would be scheduled.