Crime & Safety

Ex-Cop Hauled Off in Handcuffs to Prison for Four Deaths in DUI Crash

Victims' parents, as well as the Ballwin man who was the only survivor from the victims' car, were stunned and angry over the sentence and time likely to be served.

An off-duty Sunset Hills cop who killed four graduate students and injured one from Ballwin in a 2009 DUI crash was sentenced Thursday in St. Louis County Circuit Court to seven years in Missouri state prison.

Christine Miller, 43, was handcuffed in Judge Michael Jamison's Division 10 courtroom at 2:10 p.m. and taken out. On her way out, she turned to family and friends in the courtroom and said, "I love you."

Miller resigned from the police force this week after living at home the past two years and recovering from injuries she suffered in the March 21, 2009 collision. Miller pleaded guilty Dec. 10 to four counts first-degree manslaughter and one count second-degree assault.

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Miller will likely serve seven years of the sentence, prosecutors said. She was sentenced to serve concurrently four, eight-year sentences for manslaughter and one, seven-year sentence for DUI assault.

In a one-minute statement before sentencing, Miller said in a barely audible voice that she was sorry, and prayed for the families of the victims. Smartly dressed in a black suit, white shirt and hip, black eyeglasses, Miller seemed to address the families of the victims, however, there was no translation from the English for them.

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Just prior to Miller statement, victim-impact statements from families of the dead were translated into English for the courtroom.

Every one of the parents of the victims was flown to St. Louis from India for the sentencing, according to Sharath Rao, a liaison for the families with Telugu Association of St. Louis. 

Speaking outside the courts after sentencing, through a translator, none of the victim's parents thought the sentence was fair--not long enough.

"In India, it would be life in prison, without parole," said Krishna Veerapaneni, father of Anita, 23. She was engaged a month before her death to marry the lone survivor of the crash, Ballwin's Nitesh Adusumilli, 27.

Priya Muppvarapu, 22, Anita Lakshmi Veerapaneni, 23, Satya Chinta, 25, and Anusha Anumolu, 23, all died in the crash. The group was returning home from an evening of bowling together.

"Our lives are shattered. We looked forward to grandchildren, and coming to the United States for that. We never imagined this," said Anita's father, Veerapaneni. said.

Outside the court, the survivor Adusumilli shook his head disapprovingly in response to whether Miller's sentence seemed fair. He has since remarried, according to his Facebook page, and he did not gather with the family of his former fiancee afterward. Adusumilli said he felt guilty for the deaths of the others, even though he isn't held legally responsible. He said none of his group ever drank alcohol, in his impact statement to the court.

Rao, the group's liaison, said he and others expected Miller's punishment to be something in "the double digits."

"We thought the judge would take into account that four people died," Rao said.

Judge Jamison spoke through a translator to the victims' families in a break after sentencing. He said he hoped they thought the sentencing was fair. "I believe justice is served," Jamison said after handing down the sentence to Miller. The victim's parents appeared unmoved by his comments.

Another victim's father, Satyanarayana Muppvarapu, passionately described the court date as "a bad day, a bad day." He called for a 60-year sentence. The maximum Miller could have got was 67 years.

Another parent--a widow, said her only son, Satya Chinta, died in the crash. She, like others, described for the court how families had put all their assets into sending their children to the U.S. for education and a better life. They spoke now of doubts over the future.

Miller's father spoke to the victims' parents during the court break, saying his daughter didn't drink alcohol until the night of the crash. Miller was found with a receipt for five Cosmos from  about an hour before the crash, according to officials. Miller's aunt also tearfully apologized to the parents, through the translator. Again, the victims' parents appeared unmoved.

A Cosmo is typically two parts vodka to one part triple sec with a splash of cranberry juice and lime, served in a large Martini-style glass.

O'Leary's and Miller paid out $2.3 million earlier in a civil suit to the families of the victims. Insurance linked to Miller through the City of Sunset Hills police department paid out $300,000 to families.

Prosecutors said Miller's blood alcohol level was double the state's legal limit three hours after the crash and likely triple the legal limit at the time of the crash.

Miller was driving east in the westbound lane of Doughtery Ferry Road as the driver of the victims' car turned right from Des Peres Road into the appropriate lane. Miller's car apparently plowed into theirs. Photos of the wrecked vehicles render them nearly unrecognizable as cars.

Miller was a 12-year veteran of the Sunset Hills police force. Chief of Police William LaGrand suspended her without pay in June 2009--three months after the crash. 

LaGrand did not immediately return a phone call for comment about Miller's sentencing Thursday. A dispatcher said the police communications employee was gone for the day.

Sunset Hills Alderwoman Claudia Svoboda was inside the courtroom during Miller's sentencing. Afterward, outside the court she was sobbing and did not comment. Svoboda has served as chaplain at various hospitals in the area.


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