A murder charge has been filed in the 2005 death of five-year-old Evelyn Miller.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation held a Thursday afternoon news conference to release information on their investigation. Officials say 33-year-old Casey Frederiksen has been charged with first degree murder and first degree sexual abuse in the case.
Evelyn disappeared from her Floyd home on July 1st, 2005. Her body was found five days later along the Cedar River. Her death was ruled a homicide.
An autopsy showed Evelyn died of sharp force injuries including wounds to the neck. There was also evidence of sexual assault.
Frederiksen told investigators he had last seen Evelyn alive and well around 2:00 a.m. July 1st. He had been caring for Evelyn and the two children he shared with her mother Noel, while Noel was working.
Frederiksen, who was the fiancé of Evelyn’s mother and living with them at the time of her disappearance, was found guilty of child pornography charges and sentenced to prison in 2006. The images of child pornography were discovered during the investigation into Evelyn’s death.
Officials say Frederiksen changed his story over the seven-year investigation and also made incriminating statements to other inmates during his incarceration. The complaint against Frederiksen says he told other inmates he had been molesting Evelyn since she was a little girl and had been doing so up until her disappearance.
Frederiksen is currently in federal prison in Marion, Illinois serving a 14 year sentence on child porn and drug convictions. He is expected to be brought back to Iowa for trial in the case.
Miller’s grandparents, Richard and Linda Christie, spoke to reporters about the case, saying it was a “glorious day”, but Evelyn’s mother, Noelle Miller, was noticeably absent.
The community of Floyd came together to close a seven-year-old case.
Read the complaint and affidavit against Casey Frederiksen.
