Court records show connection between Miller, Hustad

SHELLSBURG - Court records show a connection between Sabrina Hustad and David Miller four and a half years before the woman's body was found in his driveway.

According to online court records, in April 2011, Hustad filed a notice seeking to establish paternity and child support in Jasper County. Hustad, Miller and the child underwent genetic testing and the case was later dismissed, according to court records.

On Sunday, the body of Hustad, 25, formerly of Cedar Rapids, was found at Miller's home at 3257 59th Street Trail. Miller, 31, is in custody on a theft charge. No charges have been filed in Hustad's death. On Tuesday, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent in charge Richard Rahn said the case was still under investigation.

'It's still fresh, it's still new and we're still investigating,” he said.

One such element of that investigation is any connections between Miller and Hustad.

'We're still trying to get through the weeds on that,” Rahn said. 'I can't release what information we have on that.”

Miller's arrest and the discovery of Hustad's body were part of a series of events that took place throughout Sunday morning. Around 4 a.m. that day, the Benton County Sheriff's Office took a report of a truck stolen from a residence on 59th Street Trail. The victims said they had seen a man take the truck and head south. The truck was found crashed into construction equipment 1.5 miles south from where it was taken.

While that incident was under investigation, a resident at 3251 61st Lane, which is near where the crash was discovered, reported that his truck was missing.

As Benton County authorities were investigating the two stolen trucks, 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 found crashed into the construction equipment. The man - identified later as Miller - was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital by the Iowa State Patrol and interviewed.

Around noon Sunday, the Benton County Sheriff's Office took two reports of a woman's body at 3257 59th Street Trail. There, authorities found Hustad's body, suffering from 'injuries from suspected foul play,” according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

The second stolen truck was found crashed into a tree in a deep ravine north of Pleasant Creek State Park.

On Monday, authorities released Hustad's identity and announced that Miller had been charged with one count of theft of a motor vehicle. He made an initial appearance on that charge, as well as a probation violation, and remains in custody.

Rahn said investigators are still waiting on Hustad's autopsy findings, but noted it will take several weeks to get a full report.