Utah Man Accused of Killing Baby Sitter With Drugs

[neversickanymore]

Utah Man Accused of Killing Baby Sitter With Drugs
OGDEN, Utah February 12, 2014


The trial began Wednesday against a Utah man who authorities say injected his 16-year-old baby sitter with a fatal dose of heroin and methamphetamine, and then took his infant daughter along as he and his wife dumped the teen's body in a ditch.

Prosecutors opened their case by saying Eric Millerberg, 38, and his wife, Dea, 40, had a drug-fueled, sexual relationship with Alexis Rasmussen that led to the girl's death in 2011.

The North Ogden man has pleaded not guilty to felony child abuse homicide and unlawful sex charges. He faces life in prison.

Dea Millerberg is expected to testify against her husband in 2nd District Court. She filed for divorce in 2012 and awaits trial on charges of desecration of a dead body, according to court records.

Defense lawyer Randall Marshall responded by telling jurors that the evidence against Eric Millerberg comes largely from his client's wife, who he said was lying to protect herself from prosecution. He cautioned the jury to carefully review the evidence.

Dea Millerberg has "use immunity," meaning prosecutors can't use her testimony in this case against her at her own criminal trial in April. She faces five years in prison. She says her husband gave Rasmussen the fatal mix of drugs.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Weber County Attorney Chris Shaw, called several witnesses to testify, led by Rasmussen's mother, Dawn Miera.

Miera said that after her daughter didn't return from babysitting, Eric Millerberg said the teen had gone to meet with a friend at a nearby elementary school, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Miera later reported her daughter missing, and officials posted the girl's picture around Ogden.

Shaw said Eric "Peanut" Smith came forward about a month after Rasmussen's death, telling police he had helped haul the girl's decomposing body farther off the road in rural Morgan County, home to plummeting ravines and a winding river. He eventually led authorities to the teen's remains.

Eric Millerberg has been in prison awaiting trial. Shaw said that an inmate told police that Millerberg said he and his wife both had engaged in sexual acts with the girl and that he had injected the drugs into Rasmussen's neck, the Tribune reported. Shaw did not identify the informant.

In July, Millerberg was stabbed more than 20 times by his cellmate, the Deseret News reported. That inmate has been charged with attempted murder.

Dea Millerberg has testified previously in evidence hearings that Rasmussen became disoriented after being injected once with heroin and twice with methamphetamine.

She says Rasmussen passed out on a bed and stopped breathing. After Dea Millerberg, a nurse, tried unsuccessfully to revive her, she helped dress the teen and put her body in the trunk of their car.

The Millerbergs put their infant daughter in the car, left their then 6-year-old girl behind and drove off to dispose of the baby sitter's body, she says.

Search warrants allege the couple had long supplied Rasmussen drugs in exchange for baby-sitting.

A jury is scheduled to hear six days of testimony spread out over two weeks.

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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/utah-man-accused-killing-baby-sitter-drugs-22483977

 

[DOB]

wtf killing 16 old girl by forced speedball OD?

public execution like good old days

 

[TheRapperGoneBad]

Yikes this is one fucked up story.

Im sure they will be found guilty which to me seems appropriate.

 

[neversickanymore]

These people were out of their minds.

NSFW:

But will the jury be convinced? Tattooed white supremacist who 'injected his 16-year-old baby sitter with a fatal dose of heroin and meth' has incredible courtroom makeover for first day of trial <<< link

 

[poledriver]

wow. how horrible, sux she got caught up in their shit.

 

[omnipresenthuman]

Kind of ridiculous the wife gets off with only 5 years - not much for conspiring to kill someone...even if possibly accidental. Collusion on that level just can't be tolerated with murder stuff yo...she helped dispose of the body actively and probably helped with the injecting of the OD speedball with her history as a nurse...

 

[juno nightmare]

this man's wife is worse than Skyler White from breaking bad, what a fucking bitch. She was a fucking nurse?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is a fucking nurse and she didnt take this girl to the hospital, I think this woman should face more criminal charges. A heath care professional should be held to higher standards and i feel like she was more culpable. she is a health care worker, she should know the danger of injecting a kid with meth and heroin.

she had no problem having sex with a minor and using a shit load of drugs with that child. but now when they get busted she wants a divorce and agrees to testify against her husband and in exchange she doesnt have to face any murder charges, fucking unbelievable. I hate the way men are always supposed to face the full weight of the consequences of their actions but women always get a free pass to act a fucking fool and then cry and piss and moan when they get caught so no one will make them face the consequences.

Fuck that, this woman is supposed to be a mother, she is supposed to have compassion but she took complete part in this crime, at every stage of the crime she was helping and probably generating some of the plans for what they did next. Now she faces the 2nd lowest charge possible. Total fucking bullshit.

It would be unreasonable to say things should go the other way and punish women much more harshly and much more often, but I personally feel this would be fair to the millions of men in prison and all the scandalous bitches running free.

These people are sick fuckers and they all deserve life, however i would be completely happy if the wife got death but she is only facing 5 years and then she gets to find a new guy and start the sick shit all over again.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Dea Millerberg has "use immunity," meaning prosecutors can't use her testimony in this case against her at her own criminal trial in April. She faces five years in prison. She says her husband gave Rasmussen the fatal mix of drugs.

Oh okay.

 

[missmeyet?]

Lol..of course she "says" he gave her the fatal dose..I would be surprised if she had said otherwise..though I do agree with one tiny bit of what juno said..that, as a nurse, she should be culpable, even if nothing else, simply for the fact that as a nurse she should be expected to know that that mixture could likely kill her. Also, that when she became so ill..as a nurse,there would be no excuse as to why she wouldnt have recognized signs and symptoms that were to lead to her death. I mean, being a nurse does not exclude someone from being a piece of shit, i just dont think she should be able to say that she didnt know or realize that the girl was in big trouble, medically.

I totally disagree with Juno's statement though that "women always get a free pass" regarding the judicial system..it is simply just not true. I would say that that statement is not true even half the time..much less always.

 

[What 23]

this man's wife is worse than Skyler White from breaking bad, what a fucking bitch.

Well, of course... But Skyler White was a victim. WW made a mistake from the very start. He should have just died with dignity, if he was to die. His family would have been perfectly fine.

I never understand how people can play her out to be the bad one.

From the words of another: "Here's something I won't miss, though: angry little men who hate Skyler White."

On topic: These people are sick.

 

[slimvictor]

These people are totally fucked up.
They both took the girl's body to be buried, so they both need to pay for this.
Is it really just a matter of who gave her the drugs? Seems like both participated in the lifestyle, with the girl, knowing full well what could happen.

The dude's new look is absolutely the right thing to do in court. To do otherwise, with his "DEATH" tattoo on his neck showing, would be even more insane than he already is.

Well, of course... But Skyler White was a victim. WW made a mistake from the very start. He should have just died with dignity, if he was to die. His family would have been perfectly fine.

I never understand how people can play her out to be the bad one.

From the words of another: "Here's something I won't miss, though: angry little men who hate Skyler White."

On topic: These people are sick.

Skyler White was a victim in some ways, but culpable in others.
I did not find her to be a particularly decent human being, at least after the first few episodes.
Once she purposely cheated on her husband with her boss, and fixed his books, I no longer liked her at all.
While her husband should not have lied to her, I didn't see this as enough of an excuse to do what she did.
But you are right that WW made a huge, stupid mistake from the start. He should have spent his remaining time with his family, instead of off in a meth lab feeding his ego.

 

[poledriver]

Utah man Eric Millerberg found guilty of teen babysitter Alexis Rasmussen’s murder

A JURY has found a Utah man guilty of child abuse homicide in the death of a teenage baby sitter who prosecutors say died after the man gave her a lethal dose of drugs during a night of drugs and sex that also included the man’s wife.

The eight jurors reached their verdict about two hours after they were given the case. Eric Millerberg, 38, was also found guilty of unlawful sexual contact with a minor, obstruction of justice and desecration of a dead body in the 2011 death of Alexis Rasmussen, 16.

Sentencing was set for March 18.

During a three-day trial, prosecutors brought detectives, medical examiners, prisoners and Millerberg’s wife,

Dea Millerberg, to the stand to show that he recklessly injected Rasmussen with lethal doses of heroin and methamphetamine during a night of drugs and sex that also included his wife.

Prosecutors told jurors that Eric Millerberg and his wife then dumped her body in the woods of northern Utah while lying to police as the girl’s mother desperately searched for her for more than a month.

Dea Millerberg, 40, is awaiting her own criminal trial in April on charges of desecration of a body. She testified against her husband during the trial.

“I’m just very happy for the family,” Weber County Attorney Dee Smith told the Salt Lake Tribune after the verdict was read. “They have some closure now.”

Eric Millerberg’s attorney, Randall Marshall, told reporters his client was disappointed. Mr Marshall said he expected guilty verdicts on some charges, “but I was a little disappointed in some of it.”

Verdict ... Eric Millerberg has been found guilty of child abuse homicide, unlawful sexual contact with a minor, obstruction ...
Verdict ... Eric Millerberg has been found guilty of child abuse homicide, unlawful sexual contact with a minor, obstruction of justice and desecration of a dead body. Picture: AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune/Leah Hogsten

Mr Smith started his closing argument Friday by showing the jury a picture of a smiling Rasmussen holding her little sister about one year before her death.

Then, he showed a picture of her dead body covered by a muddy piece of foam in the woods of northern Utah.

Mr Smith said the Millerbergs dumped her there, “discarded like a piece of trash,” and then lied to police for more than a month about her whereabouts.

Mr Smith called Eric Millerberg’s actions with Rasmussen deplorable, saying he had supplied her with drugs and had sex on previous occasions as well, later bragging to fellow prisoners that he partied with teenage girls.

Smith reminded the jury that laws exist to protect teens who are prone to experimenting and making mistakes when they aren’t with their parents.

“Ordinary people don’t inject little girls with heroin and methamphetamine,” Mr Smith said, later adding:

“You don’t have sex with 16-year-olds when you’re a month away from turning 36. You don’t look for dates with juniors in high school.”

Mr Marshall argued in closing arguments that the case against Eric Millerberg is based on lies by Dea Millerberg meant to protect herself.

He reminded jurors that she struggled to remember details during cross-examination about the night of Rasmussen’s death.

“Dea Millerberg told a great story, but it doesn’t add up,” Mr Marshall said.

‘Discarded’ ... a prosecutor said the Millerbergs dumped Alexis Rasmussen’s body, “like a piece of t...
‘Discarded’ ... a prosecutor said the Millerbergs dumped Alexis Rasmussen’s body, “like a piece of trash,” and then lied to police for more than a month about her whereabouts. Picture: Facebook

He said there’s no evidence, other than Dea Millerberg’s account, to prove Eric Millerberg injected Rasmussen with the drugs.

“How do we know Dea didn’t shoot her up?” Mr Marshall said.

He reminded jurors that the state medical examiner stopped short of declaring Rasmussen’s cause of death was a drug overdose.

Mr Marshall also suggested to the jury that Dea Millerberg was responsible for the death and recruited her husband to help her dump the body.

Earlier Friday, a Utah assistant medical examiner, Joseph White, testified that Rasmussen had enormous amounts of methamphetamine and heroin in her system that likely caused her death.

She had seven times the lethal amount of methamphetamine in her system and high levels of morphine and amphetamines, Mr White said.

“These are obviously significant results,” Mr White said. “Certainly, enough to explain the death.”

But Mr White said he couldn’t rule out other possibilities such as strangulation, stabbing or blunt-force trauma because the girl’s body was badly decomposed.

Prosecutors say the girl was found 38 days after her death in a remote, wooded area in Weber County.

“It’s a foul circumstance, and it seemed clear that somebody else was involved,” Mr White said, while later adding, “I felt it was most intellectually honest to list the cause and manner (of death) as undetermined.”

Defence lawyers didn’t bring any witnesses to the stand during trial, and Eric Millerberg also declined to testify.

He sat with his attorneys during the trial wearing glasses and a suit and tie that largely hides his array of neck and arm tattoos. He occasionally spoke to his lawyers, but he remained largely stoic.

Family and friends of Rasmussen filled the front row of the gallery, carefully listening to testimony as they whispered to each other. Rasmussen’s mother cried during the prosecution’s closing arguments.

http://www.news.com.au/world/utah-m...asmussens-murder/story-fndir2ev-1226828369544