William Alma Miller, the man in custody for the murder of Rebekah Gould in the fall of 2004, will soon re-appear in court July 21 before Judge Tim Weaver.
The charges stem from an incident in Sept. 21 2004, when Gould was reported missing by family members.
The Izard County Sheriff’s Office and the Arkansas State Police began to investigate Gould’s disappearance.
During the investigation, it was determined Gould had sustained “significant bodily injuries” which were believed to have occurred at a residence located in Izard County.
Approximately a week after her disappearance, Gould’s body was located, and it was determined by the medical examiner at the time the cause of death was homicide.
In November of 2020, Miller was interviewed in reference to the ongoing investigation into the death of Gould.
During the interview, Miller told authorities he had driven to a residence where he hid his pickup truck in a field behind the home.
Miller then approached the residence, knocking on the front door. When Gould opened the door, Miller said he needed to use the phone.
While Miller was pretending to use the phone, Gould went back to her bedroom at which time Miller retrieved a piano leg from the living room, entered Gould’s bedroom and struck her multiple times with the piano leg causing her death.
He then wrapped Gould in a blanket, put her body in the bed of his truck and dumped her along a two-lane highway a few miles outside of Melbourne.
Miller was placed under arrest in the state of Oregon initially and then extradited to Arkansas where he remains in jail on the charge of murder, a class Y felony.
Miller initially appeared in court March 3, 2021, with pre-trial slated for March 30.
At the request of his attorney, an extension was granted and will be held July 21 with a jury trial set for Aug. 25 through Aug. 27.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
