A lengthy criminal probe has resulted in the arrest of a
former Pennsylvania state officer, Joseph Miller who claims he accidentally
shot and killed his pregnant wife.
Miller has now been charged with two counts of involuntary
manslaughter in the 2014 shooting to death of his 34-year-old pregnant wife,
Joanna.
Miller, then a seven-year veteran with the state police, was
off-duty when he shot and killed Joanna on March 7, 2014.
He told investigators he was taking apart his 45-caliber
semiautomatic handgun in the living room of his East Norriton home when it
accidentally discharged, shooting her in the head.
He said,
“I was about to clean my gun and
I didn’t realize there was a round, I shot my wife. Fuck! I can’t believe I
fucking did this.”
Joanna, who was approximately 24
weeks pregnant, was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her baby did not survive.
An autopsy conducted by Dr.
Walter Hoffman, coroner for Montgomery County, determined that Joanna died of a
“close-range gunshot wound” and the baby died as a result of a “maternal
gunshot wound.”
Asked by investigators whether he
intentionally shot his wife, Miller, according to an interview transcript
obtained by ABC News, replied: “I did not. It was an accident. I love her to
death.”