Hearing due for soldier accused in killings

Army Specialist Ivette Davila, who is accused of killing two fellow Fort Lewis soldiers, dousing their bodies in acid and kidnapping their baby in spring 2008, will be back on the Army post next week for an Article 32 hearing, the military's equivalent of a grand-jury hearing.

Davila has been in custody in the brig at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor since March 5, 2008, after Pierce County prosecutors deferred prosecution of the case to the military.

Davila is accused of fatally shooting Staff Sgt. Timothy Miller and his wife, Sgt. Randi Miller in the couple's Parkland house on March 1, 2008.

Timothy Miller was assigned to the 47th Combat Support Hospital, 62nd Medical Brigade, while Randi Miller was assigned to Company C, Madigan Army Medical Center, according to a Fort Lewis news release.

Timothy Miller served two tours in Iraq and his wife served one. Davila had not been deployed before her arrest.

Her Article 32 hearing, which begins Monday, is expected to last three days.

Unlike a grand-jury hearing, an Article 32 hearing is open to the public, said Fort Lewis spokeswoman Catherine Caruso. Attorneys for the prosecution and the defense can call witnesses and present evidence to an investigating officer — in this case, a military judge — who will then recommend whether Davila should face a court-martial, Caruso said.

A court-martial is similar to a civilian criminal trial.

Davila has been charged with two specifications of premeditated murder, and one specification each of burglary, kidnapping and obstruction of justice.

If she's found guilty of premeditated murder, Davila would face the death penalty or a mandatory life sentence.

A guilty conviction would also result in Davila being dishonorably discharged from the military and she would forfeit all pay and allowances, according to the news release.

Rare penalty

Unlike civilian criminal courts, which require a unanimous verdict for conviction, military juries require only a two-thirds agreement for conviction, according to military-justice experts. But to impose the death penalty — which is rare but not unheard of in military trials — jurors must reach consensus, experts say.

Even then, the death penalty must still be confirmed by the president before it can be carried out.

The last time the military executed a service member was in 1961.

Davila, now 24, grew up in Bakersfield, Calif., and was a specialist in the I Corps and a member of the Fort Lewis color guard.

According to a declaration of probable cause filed by Pierce County prosecutors days after the March 2008 shootings, Davila was driven by jealousy, believing Randi Miller was having an affair with Davila's ex-boyfriend, who Davila thought had dumped her for Miller — something family members of the slain couple have said is not true.

Davila is accused of breaking into the Millers' Parkland home and shooting Timothy Miller and Randi Miller, according to the 2008 court documents. She then took the couple's then-6-month-old daughter, Kassidy, to a store to buy muriatic acid, the documents say.

She is then accused of returning to the house, dragging Randi Miller's body into the bathtub and dousing acid on both bodies in an attempt "to get rid of them," according to the documents.

Davila brought the baby to Fort Lewis and another soldier helped her with the child, whom she said she was baby-sitting, the documents say.

That soldier called authorities the next day, after Davila told him she'd killed the baby's parents, according to the court documents.

The documents also say military police found a handgun, a receipt for the muriatic acid and Randi Miller's purse in Davila's barracks.

Kassidy Miller, now 2, is living in Nevada with her paternal grandparents, who were awarded permanent guardianship.

Information from

The Seattle Times archive

is included in this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com