Chief of Police Norman Lee Miller

Norman Lee Miller

Chief of Police N.L. Miller went to the scene of a disturbance at a residence in Hearne, Texas.

The details of the call were that a woman had gone "berserk." He and his partner got out of the car and were waiting on the owner of the house and talking to a 1 ½ year old child on the porch when a shotgun blast came out of the front window. He was hit by only one pellet in the shoulder, but it severed an artery. The mother of the child Chief Miller was speaking to fired the shotgun at him.

Chief Miller was raised in Easterly, Texas, served in WWII, ran close races for sheriff twice, and only served as Hearne chief for 14 months. He was buried in Mt Pleasant Cemetery in Franklin, Robertson County.

His killer was a 21-year-old woman who had recently been discharged from a state hospital in Abilene, Texas. She surrendered that day and confessed to the shooting. She was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison. She was released on August 1, 1968.