 Julie Shaw works on the Real Time News Desk for the Inquirer and the Daily News. Joseph Miller, 36, was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 shooting deaths of his pregnant wife, Joanna, 34, and their child, who was delivered after the shooting, the DA's Office said. It was 2:24 p.m. March 7, 2014, when Miller, then a Pennsylvania state trooper, called 911 to report that he had shot his wife in the family room of their home on Stoney Creek Road in East Norriton. The Montgomery County chief deputy coroner had determined that Joanna Miller died of a "close-range gunshot wound of the head" and the baby died of "precipitous delivery due to maternal gunshot wound." Miller told detectives he was disassembling his personal gun in the family room so he could clean it when it discharged and struck his 34-year-old wife, who was sitting on the floor sorting clothes for donation, according to a criminal complaint. After an initial three-month investigation by Montgomery County detectives, Pennsylvania State Police and East Norriton police, the prosecutor's office, led by then-District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, in June 2014 concluded that Joseph Miller was negligent in his handling of the gun, but not criminally liable. Authorities at the time said all evidence indicated the Millers were "a close-knit, loving family excited about the pending arrival of a new baby." A two-year investigation involving ballistics and forensic tests showed the gun was 3 to 6 inches from JoAnna Miller's head when it went off, according to a statement by the Montgomery County district attorney's office. Miller "lied to police when he stated he did not know where Joanna was at the time of the shooting" and "also lied" when he told police he was 8 to 10 feet away from her, and then later "lied again when he changed his answer" and said he was roughly 2 feet away from her, the affidavit says. "As a Pennsylvania State Trooper, Miller was fully aware of the procedures and standards of care necessary to ensure the safety of others while cleaning his Glock firearm," the affidavit says, adding that he "directly caused the unlawful deaths of his wife and child by repeatedly disregarding these essential safety measures" and then lying to police. He said he did not realize there was a round in the magazine and did not think he was pointing the gun anywhere near his wife. In a call Joseph Miller placed to 911 after the shooting, he tells a dispatcher: "I, ah, was cleaning. Joseph Miller also told detectives he didn't check to see whether the gun was unloaded before cleaning it. I shot my wife." Miller told his wife, "Joanna, I love you," and told the dispatcher "my wife is pregnant, also." Bail was set at an unsecured amount of $100,000, with conditions that he surrender his passport and all firearms, the DA's Office said.
– More than three years after their deaths, a former Pennsylvania state trooper has been charged in the fatal shooting of his pregnant wife, which also resulted in the death of the baby she was carrying. Joseph Miller, who resigned from the state police Wednesday, told dispatchers during the 911 call in 2014 that he was preparing to clean his gun when he released the slide and pulled the trigger, not realizing there was a round in the magazine at the time. His wife was sitting on the floor nearby sorting baby clothes, per CBS Philadelphia, and was shot in the head; their daughter, who was at 24 weeks gestation, was delivered via emergency c-section. Neither survived. Miller, now 36, was initially cleared in the shooting, but subsequent investigation revealed that he lied to authorities, police say. He has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Tests found that Joanna Miller, 34, was shot from 3 to 6 inches away; thus, Miller "lied to police when he stated he did not know where Joanna was at the time of the shooting" and "also lied" when he told police he was 8 to 10 feet away from her, then "lied again when he changed his answer" and said he was about 2 feet away from her, per the affidavit of probable cause filed last week. "Miller should have been aware that his wife was seated right next to him, and that the muzzle was pointed directly at her head, when he pulled the trigger and shot her to death," it states, adding that he also disregarded safety measures with which, as a state trooper, he should have been familiar. The Millers had two other children together, and Joanna Miller also had two children from a previous relationship. Joseph Miller can be heard consoling children on the 911 recording, ABC News reports.