KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A white supremacist accused of killing three people at two Jewish centers in Kansas says he plans to plead guilty to capital murder to avoid a lengthy trial because of his failing health.
Frazier Glenn Miller, 74, of Aurora, Missouri, told The Associated Press in a phone call from jail on Monday that he doesn't think he has much longer to live and wants a chance to speak in court about why he committed the crimes.
Miller is accused of fatally shooting William Lewis Corporon, 69, and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park, Kansas, on April 13, 2014. The two were there so the teen could compete in a singing contest. Minutes after that shooting, Miller gunned down Terri LaMano, 53, at a nearby Jewish retirement home, prosecutors said. He was taken into custody after.
Miller has told the AP and other media outlets that he planned and executed the fatal attacks, and that it was his intent to use the trial as a means to "put the Jews on trial where they belong." He called the slayings justified, though he said he regrets killing the 14-year-old.
Miller, who has chronic emphysema, has repeatedly insisted on receiving a speedy trial despite his attorneys' insistence they need more time to develop a defense strategy. Neither Steve Howe, the district attorney for Johnson County, Kansas, nor Miller's defense attorney immediately returned calls seeking comment. Howe told the AP last year a judge has issued a gag order that prevents him or other attorneys from talking about the case.
Miller, also known as Frazier Glenn Cross, is a Vietnam War veteran who founded the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in his native North Carolina and later established a group called the White Patriot Party.
IN-DEPTH
- White Supremacist Could Face Death Penalty for Kansas Killings
- A Life of Hate: Kansas Shooting Suspect Thrived on Extremism
- Eagle Scout and His Grandfather Killed in Jewish Center Shooting
— The Associated Press