Miller charged with murder in Benton County death investigation

BENTON COUNTY — The man arrested early in the Sabrina Hustad Janish investigation has been charged with murder.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced Thursday that David C. Miller, 32, has been arrested in connection with Janish's death and faces one count of first-degree murder.

Janish, 25, was found dead on October 25 at 3257 59th Street Trail, Miller's home. Around 4 a.m. that day, the Benton County Sheriff's Office took a report of a truck stolen from a home on 59th Street Trail. The victims told deputies they saw a man take the truck and head south. The truck was later found crashed into construction equipment about 1.5 miles south from where it was taken.

While authorities were investigating that stolen truck, a nearby resident reported that his truck was missing.

Around that same time, the Linn County Sheriff's Office took a report of a man suffering from a head wound walking along Lewis Bottoms Road, two miles east of where the first truck was crashed. The man, later identified as Miller, was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital and interviewed.

Miller was initially arrested on charges of operating a vehicle without the owners consent and parole violation. He was held at the Benton County Jail without bond.

Authorities said at noon that day, the Benton County Sheriff's Office took two reports of a woman's body at Miller's home. There, authorities found Janish's body. Officials said Janish died of multiple stab wounds and strangulation.

Miller and Janish knew each other at least several years before her death. According to court records, Janish named Miller in a paternity and child support case in Jasper County in April 2011 that was dismissed later that year.

According the criminal complaint charging Miller, Miller's blood was discovered on Janish's clothing and blood belonging to both Janish and Miller were found on a vehicle.

'There was also a large amount of blood inside the residence and a knife that was later confirmed to have Hustad's blood on it,' the complaint reads.

Bloody boot prints were also found inside Miller's residence, police said. A pair of boots were found in Pleasant Creek State Park that matched the boot prints left at the scene. Miller's DNA was found on the boots and Janish's blood was found on a shoelace.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Richard Rahn attributed the length of time between Janish's murder and Miller's arrest to wanting to do a 'thorough' investigation. Rahn said investigators also had to wait on lab results.

'Once we received those results, we moved forward,' Rahn said.

Rahn said he could not comment further on the case.

First-degree murder is a Class A felony punishable by life in prison.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that first-degree murder, a Class A felony, was punishable by one year in prison. It has since been changed to read "a felony punishable by life in prison."