Snapped is re-examining the case of Sharee Miller, who coerced her lover, Jerry Cassady, into killing her husband, Bruce Miller, in Flint, Michigan.
From the outside, Bruce and Sharee appeared to have an ideal marriage, and they both openly praised each other to family and friends. However, under the surface, there were signs of trouble; Sharee’s spending habits were excessive, and Bruce struggled with his auto business to keep up with her extravagance.
And worst of all, Sharee was having an affair with Jerry Cassaday from Kansas, Missouri. The pair had met in an internet chat room in the early days of online dating but soon began meeting in person. Sharee used frequent business trips as a ruse to meet up with Cassaday.
At some point, Sharee decided to manipulate her lover into killing Bruce. She told Cassaday that her husband was abusive toward her and that her life was in danger.
Sharee convinced Cassaday that he had gotten her pregnant, but she had miscarried due to Bruce’s abuse. It was all a lie; she was never pregnant.
On November 9, 1999, Cassaday drove to Flint and shot dead Bruce with a 20 gauge shotgun at his junkyard. The following month, Sharee broke up with Cassaday and began another relationship.
Jerry Cassaday committee suicide and implicated Sharee Miller in the murder
Three months after the murder, Cassaday committed suicide. His brother, Mike Cassaday, found a briefcase under Cassaday’s bed with a note telling him to open it in front of an attorney.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe briefcase was found to contain copies of the emails and instant-message conversations between Cassaday and Sharee, implicating them both in the murder of Bruce Miller. Further investigation found that in the weeks before his death, Cassaday was gathering evidence to determine if Sharee had manipulated him into committing murder.
Sharee Miller convicted of having Jerry Cassaday kill Bruce Miller
Eventually, a jury concluded that Sharee had manipulated him, and she was convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Nine years later, a judge ruled that Cassaday’s suicide note should not have been used in the trial and that Sharee should be retrialed. She was even allowed to post bail and leave prison.
However, the prosecution spent three years fighting to have her conviction reinstated, and they eventually won, sending Sharee back to jail.
In 2016, Sharee finally admitted her guilt in a letter to the prosecution. She wrote in part, “I was living two lives and I got caught up and did not want to get caught so I planned a murder and went through with it. Instead of my family or Bruce’s family finding out what I really was, I thought I could cover it up by having Bruce murdered. I cannot deny this anymore.”
Snapped airs Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.