A native of Los Angeles, born in 1942, Miller was convicted of auto theft and confined to a California reform school at age 15. His parents paid a visit to the school on November 11, 1957, and were allowed to take John home for Sunday dinner, but he slipped away from them that night and disappeared. Next morning, 22-month-old Laura Wetzel was found beaten to death in her crib, at the family home in Rolling Hills. Neighbors i.ÎÞ ~.ß gÌÞ dentified Miller as the boy who threatened them with a gun the previous night, and he was arrested in Reno on November 15, driving a car stolen from Redondo Beach. Miller confessed to the crime, telling police, "I wanted to know how it would feel... but I'm sorry about it now, of course." Convicted of murder, he spent 17 years in prison before his parole, in August 1975. Two months later, on October 23, Miller shot both his parents at their home, in Long Beach. His father survived long enough to reach a neighbor's house, and Miller was soon arrested, convicted of double murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.