The affidavit describes a violent fight, a wrapped body and a police pursuit that ended in Porter County.
GARY, Ind. — Court records accuse 19-year-old Cameion Askia Brown of killing Darryl Miller, 71, inside Miller’s Gary home, then leaving in the older man’s Honda Accord before police arrested him after a highway pursuit.
The charges rest on a chain of evidence described in police reports, witness statements, an autopsy and Brown’s own alleged interview with detectives. Prosecutors charged Brown with murder and auto theft after investigators said they connected him to Miller’s home, Miller’s missing vehicle and statements about the violence. The case has drawn attention because authorities say Brown gave shifting accounts about whether Miller was alive when he was wrapped in blankets and bound. Brown is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The affidavit says Brown admitted he had been staying at Miller’s home and called him “Pops.” Investigators said Brown told them he and Miller had been together at church days before Miller’s body was discovered. Brown claimed a confrontation began when Miller “started to touch him inappropriately,” according to court records. Detectives said Brown described knocking Miller down, punching him and kicking him. He allegedly said Miller tried to speak during the attack and that Brown responded, “Really.” The records do not show that detectives had any statement from Miller, who was found dead before police began the interview stage of the case.
Police said Miller was found April 12 in a bedroom of his home in the 2200 block of Rhode Island Street. Friends from his church had gone to check on him after several days without contact. They reported seeing what appeared to be a body and called police. Officers entered and found Miller on the floor, wrapped in blankets and sheets, with duct tape around his feet. Investigators said the room showed signs of disorder, including a flipped mattress. Court records described the body as being in a state of decomposition, a detail that fit the concerns from friends that Miller had been unreachable for days.
The autopsy became a key part of the charging decision. The Lake County Coroner’s Office determined that Miller died from multiple blunt force injuries to the head and torso and ruled the death a homicide. Investigators reported injuries that included a broken jaw, fractured ribs, a punctured lung and dislocated fingers. They also said some injuries were consistent with defensive wounds. Those findings gave prosecutors more than a missing-person concern or a suspicious death. They supported a murder charge based on the scale of the trauma, the condition of the bedroom and the witness information placing Brown with Miller before the body was found.
The auto theft count came from the missing Honda Accord. Police said Miller’s car was gone from the home when officers began investigating. Later that day, officers found the vehicle in Porter County with Brown behind the wheel. A Westville officer tried to stop him, but police said Brown fled. The chase moved onto Interstate 94 near the 26-mile marker before a Town of Porter officer used a PIT maneuver to stop the car. Brown was arrested at the scene. During questioning, investigators said Brown told them he ran because he was in a stolen car and said, “I am done like fried chicken.”
Witness accounts filled in the time between Miller’s last known contacts and the police response. One witness told detectives that Miller often let people without housing stay with him and identified Brown as a person who had stayed at the residence. Others told police they saw Miller with Brown days earlier, including at church. After Miller could not be reached, witnesses said they received messages from Brown saying Miller was “sick” and “quiet for a while.” Another witness said a person matching Brown’s description was seen leaving the home around the time investigators believe the killing occurred. Police have not publicly released the exact estimated time of death.
Investigators also cited physical evidence from the scene. Police said Brown was wearing shoes that appeared consistent with impressions believed to have been left at Miller’s home. The public summaries of the case do not say whether DNA, fingerprints, phone records or surveillance video have been completed or filed with the court. They also do not say whether investigators recovered the duct tape, clothing or other possible evidence from inside the home for lab testing. Authorities said the investigation was ongoing, leaving several parts of the evidence record unresolved as the case entered court.
Brown had other pending criminal cases when he was arrested in Miller’s death. Court records listed cases involving battery against a public safety official, theft and resisting law enforcement. Those cases are not convictions in the homicide case and remain separate from the murder and auto theft charges. Prosecutors filed the new charges April 14 after Detective James Nielsen secured them through the Lake County process. If Brown is convicted of murder, he could face up to 65 years in prison. The auto theft charge carries its own possible penalty under Indiana law.
The case also involved multiple agencies because the investigation started in Lake County and the arrest happened in Porter County. Gary police, the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force, the Lake County Coroner’s Office, the Lake County CSI Division, Indiana State Police, Indiana State Excise Police, East Chicago police and Town of Porter police were among those listed as assisting. Authorities said the killing appeared isolated and that they did not believe there was an ongoing public threat. The court process will next test the statements, records and physical evidence described by investigators.
The court record now leaves the case in the hands of prosecutors, defense counsel and a judge. The next major test will be how Brown’s alleged statements, the autopsy findings and the vehicle evidence are handled before a jury ever hears them.
Author note: Last updated May 7, 2026.