New claims surface in death of Clayton Miller

After nearly 33 years of never giving up hope, a Cape Breton mother now feels her family is closer than ever to finally solving the mystery of how her then 17-year-old son died in 1990.

“Things are starting to turn around and I’m uplifted in how things have changed,” said Maureen Miller, during a telephone interview Thursday from her lawyer’s office in Halifax.

Her optimism stems from new evidence collected by her lawyer, Ray Wagner, suggesting that Clayton Miller’s body was never in a shallow brook on May 5, 1990. The remains of the teen were found in the brook on May 6. The family and others have long believed the remains were placed in the brook in the early morning hours of May 6 for searchers to find. At the time of his death, he was wearing a bright, red sweater.

Clayton Miller and a large group of teens had gathered in a wooded area in New Waterford on the evening of May 4 known as “the Nest.”

The area was a popular underage drinking spot and was raided later that evening by police which sent those assembled scrambling to get away.

Maureen Miller said she believes her son was assaulted by two other teens prior to police arriving and that he was later scooped up by officers and taken to the lock-up.

She further believes that her son died in a police cell and officers then covered it up by placing the body back in the brook some 24 hours later.

WILSON AFFIDAVIT

To support the assertion that the body was not in the brook on May 5, Maureen Miller points to the new affidavit from John Wilson of New Waterford.

Wilson, now 75, grew up in the town and was familiar with the Nest area. He said he routinely visited the site after teen parties to collect empty bottles for redemption.

He said he went to the area on May 5, carrying a potato sack for the bottles, and remembers the weather was good and there were no leaves on trees.

“I did not see a body and I did not see a bright red sweater,” said Wilson, in his affidavit.

“If Clayton Miller’s body was there, at the stream on Saturday morning, I would have stepped on him because I walked all over that area and the path runs right through there,” said Wilson.

Wilson further claims that in hearing the news the following day, Sunday, that Miller’s body had been recovered, he called police.

“I talked to a police officer at the station and said that the body was not there when I was there early Saturday morning. No one followed up, no one took a statement,” said Wilson.

Wilson said he called police on two further occasions to report what he had seen but with the same result, no follow-up.

“I was available any time to communicate with police but no efforts were made by the police.”

Wilson’s claims are contradictory to the police investigation that determined Miller likely fell into the shallow brook in attempting to flee police.

However, police have not been able to explain why Miller’s remains were never discovered until Sunday despite the area being thoroughly searched the day previous.

Wagner said it is uncontroverted that Miller died in the late evening of May 4 or the early hours of May 5.

“The police narrative places Clayton in the shallow brook in the Nest area of New Waterford from the time of death until his body was found on Sunday morning. The same location is where 10 independent witnesses directly passed by on Saturday. These witnesses have provided direct, firsthand testimony that there was no corpse nor bright red sweatshirt in the brook on May 5, 1990,” said Wagner.

SEARCH AND RESCUE INTERVIEW

In further support of Wilson’s claim, Wagner points to an interview with Bryan Macdonald of Cape Breton Search and Rescue.

Macdonald, then the search team lead, told Wagner’s investigators that his search team of 12 to 15 individuals searched the area on May 5 from Ellsworth Avenue to the south side of the culvert and no body or red sweater was found.

Wagner said a third individual has also confirmed witnessing the search and rescue team in the area on May 5, 1990.

However, the logbook for the search and rescue team, which would have documented the search, is now missing along with other key documentary evidence.

“It is hard to believe the breadth of this case, but the more you look the more you realize the facts debunk any notion that Gervase and Maureen Miller were spouting a conspiracy theory,” said Wagner.

Maureen Miller said she has two questions that she would very much like answered: where was Clayton on May 5 and what was the true cause of death.

Three autopsies have produced three results. One determined the cause of death as a dry drowning, another suggested hypothermia and a third suggested there was a choke hold placed on Clayton Miller.

The Millers have never given up on finding out exactly what happened and despite investigations by the RCMP and the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), the family now wants another investigation into the death. The prior investigations determined no foul play.

“Every time someone said no to us, it made me stronger,” said Maureen Miller, adding the case is also the subject of a documentary.

She said as new evidence is uncovered and shared publicly, more individuals are coming forth to confirm such details.

“It is time for this to be dealt with. If you have information, tell the truth of what you know. Do not be afraid,” said Maureen.

Anyone with information on the case can contact Wagner at 1-800-465-8794.

Wagner said his firm is continuing with its own investigation and will likely have another update in April.