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Last updated on Friday, August 15, 2014
(BLOOMFIELD) - Attempted murder charges have been filed against the man suspected of an unprovoked knife attack in Bloomfield on Sunday night.
On Thursday morning, the Greene County Prosecutor's Office filed a criminal case against Michael Miller in Greene Circuit Court which including a preliminary charge of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, as well as aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony.
According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Deputy Town Marshal Marvin Holt, 23-year-old Miller, of Bloomfield, allegedly admitted to the attack during an interview and told the officer that he knew what he did was against the law.
Miller was arrested by Bloomfield Town Marshal Ken Tharp just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Miller and was held on a preliminary charge of aggravated battery.
The attack, which police believe was unprovoked, occurred at 501 South Seminary Street in Bloomfield late Sunday night. Miller lives on the same street - his address is listed in the police report as 930 South Seminary Street.
At the hospital, the woman told police that she and Kohn had been sitting outside near the back door of her residence when they saw a man later identified as Miller making multiple passes on Duncan Street near their residence. Kohn and his girlfriend stated Miller was "just acting really different" and that he had appeared to have something in his hands when he stopped by a neighbor's home, but that they could not tell what it was. Kohn told Holt that on the last trip before Miller disappeared they had waved at him, and that Miller had waved back.
The couple says about 10 minutes passed before Kohn returned, placed his right hand on Kohn's left shoulder, and used his left hand to take a quick swipe to his throat. His girlfriend police that Miller looked her "dead in the eyes" when he took the swipe to Kohn's throat, and that he had what appeared to be a small, silver-bladed pocket knife in his hand.
The woman says Miller did not say anything to either her or Kohn, and that he turned and walked away from the scene calmly. She said she had never seen MIller before and had no idea why anyone would want to hurt Kohn.
Kohn also told police that he did not know Miller.
Kohn told police that he did not even realize he had been cut until there was blood dripping down his shirt. He said that when he fell out of the chair he was sitting on, his girlfriend pulled him into the house, where her grandparents were sleeping. His girlfriend called 911 while her grandmother tended to his bleeding until emergency personnel arrived.
It took about 45 stitches to close the wound on the left side of Kohn's neck. His doctor told Kohn he may not have lived if the cut was another centimeter deep.
Police were able to identify that Miller was their suspect just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Police say knew Miller was in the area Wednesday after police received a report of a suspicious person in the Worthington area, but they didn't have enough evidence to identify him as the suspect in the attack.
Wednesday afternoon, Holt received a tip from a man who had lived with Miller in the past. The man says Kohn and his girlfriend had described Miller very well, and that Miller had been missing from his residence since early on Aug. 13. The man says Miller did not leave the house during the day, so he thought his absence was a concern.
The man says Miller had multiple incidents over the last couple of years where he showed what he considered to be "a sickness", and that he and a relative of Miller's were trying to get him help.
He claim he had once woken up at about 2:30 a.m. and found Miller standing over him with a machete, and that when he asked Miller what he was doing, Miller replied that he was outside cutting down weeds from the yard. The man also told police that Miller would go into a shed and throw knives in the pitch black, and that he lived in "the total dark", only leaving his room long enough to eat.
The man moved out of the residence Miller lived at because he feared for his life, and added that Miller would hear voices after going to church. He stated that he was afraid Miller would hurt somebody else if he was not found.
Police spoke with the relative Miller was living with, who agreed that something was wrong about his absence since he never left the house during the day. She told police that Miller's mood had not been any different in the last few days, and that any time she tried to get him help he said there was nothing wrong with him.
Police found a silver Gerber brand knife in plain view on a desk in Miller's room. Police also recovered the clothing that Miller was wearing during the attack.
By noon officers had gathered enough evidence to be able to put Miller's image in a photo line-up.
Jeremy Kohn was able to immediately identify Miller as this attacker.
After being identified, police then went on a search for Miller.
Worthington Town Marshal Randy Raney and Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Harvey Holt located Miller behind the Worthington Country Mart Grocery Store. Miller was stopped and arrested.
During a recorded interview at the Greene County Sheriff's Department, Miller reportedly admitted that he had frequent thoughts of harming multiple people and that he cut Kohn's throat in a rage because he thought Kohn was laughing at him.
Miller told police he left his house between 11 and 11:30 p.m. to walk to a nearby residence and drop off a geography book and some flash cards that were loaned to him when he was in school. Later that evening, Holt verified that the items had been placed on the front porch of that residence.
According to Holt, Miller said he then left the residence and walked west on Duncan Street to the intersection of South Seminary, spotting Kohn and his girlfriend sitting outside. Miller told police he did not know them personally but that when he walked by he saw them smile at each other and that Kohn shook his head like they were talking about him. Miller reportedly kept walking despite being angry, but then got stopped by a passing train.
"Michael said the longer he stood there, he fumed," Holt explained, adding that he said he then turned around and walked back to where Kohn and his girlfriend were sitting, positioned himself in front of Kohn, and cut his neck with a silver Gerber brand knife.
"I asked Michael if he was trying to kill Jeremy and he said with a straight look on his face, 'I didn't care if he died or not.' Michael said after he cut his throat, he just turned and walked back home," Holt stated. "Michael said that he waited to hear the sirens of the police, but never did, so he continued home. I asked Michael if he would do it again, Michael paused for a moment and said that if he had to do it again, he would."
Miller admitted to police that he has thought he needed to hurt someone multiple times, and that he had passed a man and woman walking their dogs while he was going to drop the books off and thought about attacking them because he thought they were talking about him.
Miller told police he knew what he did was against the law and that he would take full responsibility for his actions.
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