Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyGLENDALE, AZ – The man who confessed to killing his daughter and wife, and stabbing his young son multiple times, said the “devil and God” made him do it, according to court documents.
Glendale Police Sgt. Jim Cunningham said Michael Miller, 29, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Court documents say Miller is bipolar and schizophrenic. Family members say he tried to kill himself at least once.
Police said at about 5 a.m. Saturday, Miller stabbed his wife, Adriana, 28, his 10-year-old daughter, Valeria and 4-year-old son, Brian at their home near Camelback Road and 77th Avenue.
Adriana and Valeria died. The couple's 4-year-old son remained hospitalized in serious condition Monday. Family members say Adriana’s parents plan to take care of the boy when he is released from the hospital.
According to court documents, Miller said he punched Brian in the face and stabbed him the most “because he loved him the most.”
Miller apparently called police and waited for them to arrive at the scene after committing the crime. When investigators interviewed him later, he said he had been possessed.
A makeshift memorial outside the home where the murders occurred continued to grow Monday.
Valeria’s friends dropped off flowers, candles, letters and stuffed animals at the vigil.
“I feel kind of empty now,” said 12-year-old Karen Chavira. “She was one of our best friends, and it was sad that her own dad did that. He looked so innocent.”
Adriana Miller’s cousin Cristina Alvarez, said many of their family members are in Mexico, and that they can’t afford funeral expenses for Adriana and Valeria.
“We can't believe it,” said Alvarez. “We can't think why he would do something like that. He loved the kids.”
Alvarez said she and her entire family are still in shock, trying to come to terms with the fact that they will never see Adriana and Valeria Miller again.
“This never happened in my family, so we can’t think, we don’t know what to do,” said Alvarez. “My uncle, he doesn’t say nothing. He can't think right now. He just says ‘Why?’”
"It hurts so bad," said Valerie Barnett who lives nearby. "I can't imagine how anyone could do that to their kids."
Barnett says she saw paramedics take the boy away and that she is crossing her fingers.
Barnett says there was some kind of argument at the home that spilled into the street yesterday but police were not called.
After the brutal murders, Alvarez said she could still find it in her heart to forgive Miller. She said she knew him as a good man who loved his family, but that his mental problems got the best of him, and his family ended to paying the price.
Shelters across the Valley, like the one sponsored by Chrysalis, offer women in abusive relationships a safe place to get away, and plan a new start. Their goal is to prevent incidents like this weekend's stabbing of two children and their mother.
"Each room has two sets of bunk beds and a crib available," said Angie Swart, who works at the shelter sponsored by Chrysalis.
"We want to provide resources for women so they know that they don't have to stay in this type of situation," Swart said. "That there are places and people willing to help them."
Shelter workers say they can help when things get out of control, stepping in before someone gets injured or worse.
"There are definitely warning signs, and behaviors escalate over time," Swart said.
Shelters and assistance are available to help in the short term if someone just needs a night or two away, or if they choose to make a new start on their own.
"We offer outpatient counseling and we offer shelters where women and children can go for up to 120 days," said Swart.
Advocates say it's often up to people outside of an abusive relationship to make the first move to get help.
"It's definitely important for you to step up and say 'Hey, I think there's something going on here and I want you to get some help,'" said Swart.
