Boyfriend Charged in Audrey Scott Murder

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Authorities say Audrey Scott was shot and killed by her boyfriend Sammie Miller in southern Racine county forest. When asked why he did it and then abandoned her body, Miller said he "didn't want to go back to prison."

Now Miller, 23, of Milwaukee, faces life in prison after being charged with first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The Friend Who Was There

During the course of their investigation, authorities interviewed Miller's friend who drove with him that night to the location of Scott's murder.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Racine County, Miller's friend told police that in the early morning hours of July 4, he received numerous phone contacts from Miller. Miller came to his house at around 4 a.m. and the friend reportedly saw Scott "in the front passenger seat, badly beaten."

In the complaint, Miller's friend told police that he and Miller drove down the freeway with the badly injured Scott and pulled over at a secluded location near the Apple Hollar restaurant in Southern Racine County.

Miller parked on the side of the road, removed Scott from the car and took her into the woods. Miller's friend followed into the woods and heard a single gunshot. He looked and saw Miller pointing a handgun at Scott and pulling the trigger, the complaint read.

Miller and his friend got back into the Yukon and drove away. When his friend asked Miller why he did it, he told his friend he didn't want to go back to prison, according to the complaint.

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Scott Goes Missing

On July 14, police were told that Scott was missing. She had last been seen at McGillicudy's bar near Water Street and Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee. Days passed, and family members told authorities that she had not been in recent contact with any of them, which they felt was unusual. Police began an investigation into her disappearance, the complaint stated.

One of Scott's relatives told authorities that on the night of July 3, she was at McGillicuddy's bar in Milwaukee and saw Scott there with her boyfriend, Sammie Miller. The relative told authorities that Miller mistook the her for a male and became jealous. An argument between Miller and the relative became physical, and the two were kicked out of the tavern. Scott remained in the tavern, and that was the last time she was seen by loved ones, the complaint read.

Tracking Down Miller

According to the complaint, police intereviewed a relative who lived with Miller. The relative told police that in mid-July, a friend of Miller came to the house to take away two of his guns. She also said she found a pair of Miller's shoes, which were bloody. At that point she had heard rumors that Miller had killed Scott. She decided to wash the blood off the shoes before burning them in her backyard fire pit.

Miller's relative also said that on the morning of July 4, Miller woke her up at 2 a.m. and told her that he needed the keys to her white GMC Yukon SUV. The Yukon was back the next morning, and Miller told her he had just cleaned it. Police also interviewed an intimate partner of Miller's, who said that on July 3, she dropped off Miller at his relative's house at around 8 p.m. and did not hear from him until nearly 11 a.m. the next morning, which struck her as odd.

The Day They Learned

Authorities say Miller's friend accompanied detectives in a police car to locate the wooded area where he believed the shooting took place.

He led them to the roadside next to a large rural property on the 14000 block of County Line Road in Yorkville. After a brief search of the woods, detectives found the skeletal remains of a body clad in denim shorts and a white #12 Green Bay Packers jersey, according to the criminal complaint.

According to police, the Wisconsin photo ID card was that of Audrey Scott. Her remains were transported to and confirmed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner, which noted a gunshot wound to the chest.

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