Witness admits to impersonating homicide victim at accused killer's request [The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.]

Apr. 19—LEWISBURG — A Mifflinburg man testified under oath in Union County Court on Wednesday that he impersonated John Nichols during three insurance calls at the request of accused killer Myrle Miller.

On the second day of 77-year-old Miller's trial where she is accused of poisoning and defrauding her 77-year-old husband John Nichols on April 14, 2018, the commonwealth called Larue Geiger Jr. as a witness. Geiger admitted that Miller asked him to pose as Nichols during three phone calls with Prudential Insurance where requests were made to borrow a combined $27,700 from three life insurance policies.

Geiger immediately identified himself in the first recording but had to listen to the other two recordings twice. After listening to the phone calls, "They're all me," said Geiger, a former friend of Nichols and Miller and the seventh witness on Wednesday.

Geiger said Miller told him Nichols was allegedly sick with cancer and couldn't make the phone calls himself to give Miller permission to handle the insurance loan. Geiger did so three times in August 2017, but never discussed it with Nichols, he testified.

When the police came to Geiger during the course of the investigation, Geiger admitted to his actions because "I knew it was wrong," he said. He added, "I don't think it was right for this man to die."

Voices didn't match

Jessica Portilla, an investigator of insurance fraud with Prudential, presented several documents and recordings, including the three with Giegier, outlining Miller's request to take out loans against the insurance policies. Miller in the recordings said they needed the money for cancer treatments for Nichols and procedures for herself.

In a recording on April 5, 2019, Miller called for information about a claim she filed. She told the insurance worker that Nichols's children "are putting pressure on the state trooper" investigating the death and "I know I didn't do nothing."

Miller in the recording claimed the children wanted money from Nichols' estate — "People get greedy when somebody dies," she said to the insurance worker.

Portilla testified that Prudential suspected fraud. She compared the voice of Nichols pulled from previous records prior to his marriage with Miller to the three recordings suspected to be fraudulent.

"The voice didn't match our John Nichols voice on file," she said.

In January 2021, Prudential contacted Miller, who denied having any knowledge that the beneficiaries were changed or loans were taken out on the policies. She became "increasingly agitated," hung up and Prudential never received any further paperwork or loan payments, Portilla testified.

Miller's son Ronald Rovenolt Jr. testified that Miller asked him in 2017 to impersonate Nichols, but he declined.

Doctor testifies Nichols not in poor health

State troopers allege Miller intentionally fed Nichols her own prescription medication, verapamil, knowing it would cause his heart to fail.

Nichols died at age 77 in the home the couple shared on Lamey Road in Millmont, Union County.

Miller was arrested in May 2021 and has been held in jail without bail.

In the years prior to Nichols's death, arrest papers state that Miller drained at least $87,000 from Nichols' bank accounts and opened two loans against his life insurance without his consent before he died, all while allegedly professing her love to other men online from questionable social media accounts that may have been fraudulent.

Dr. Christopher Biancato, a cardiovascular doctor at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, testified that Nichols had a mild heart condition and his blood pressure was high. After a regimen of medication, his health was under control in November 2017, the doctor said.

Asked if he would have expected Nichols to die in April 2018 due to poor health, Biancato said, "No."

Biancato testified that he did not prescribe verapamil and he sees no reason why Nichols would have been taking it. It requires "a lot of verapamil in his system" to cause death.

Biancato testified that he saw no signs of dementia in Nichols in November 2017. He was "alert and orientated" and "perfectly capable" of answering questions, he said.

The doctor described Nichols as an active man who "did a lot of work for his age."

Dementia screenings

Dr. Domenick Ronco, of the Family Practice Center in Mifflinburg, said Miller told him in August 2017 that Nicholes had memory loss and confusion. Nichols scored low on a mental health examination and Ronco prescribed him a pill to help with memory loss.

By February 2018, Ronco testified that Nichols's progress was "fairly stable."

Geiger testified that Nichols was a "pretty spry fellow" who was in better health than himself even though he was 10 years older than Geiger. He would garden, hunt and fish, and chop wood. He did slow down "near the end," he said.

Geiger never discussed with Nichols about his alleged cancer, but he didn't notice any hair loss or signs of sickness or treatment. After a vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, in 2017, Geiger testified the friendship with Nichols and Miller ended.

Case resumes Thursday

The case is being prosecuted by Union County District Attorney Pete Johnson and Senior Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Buck. Miller is represented by attorney Brian Ulmer, of Lewisburg. The case is being heard in front of Senior Judge Edward Reibman, of Lehigh County.

Reibman informed the jury that the commonwealth is likely to rest its case Thursday or early Friday. Either way, the defense will present its witnesses, if it has any, starting Monday, the judge said.

The case resumes at 9 a.m. Thursday in Union County Court, in Lewisburg.

___

(c)2023 The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)

Visit The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.) at www.dailyitem.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.