TOWSON, Md. -- A Reisterstown man who pleaded guilty in the 1998 strangulation of a Carroll County teenager has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The father of the victim told 11 News that he and his family wanted the courthouse trips to end and were tired of fighting for a death sentence.
John Miller IV, 36, had been sentenced to death in 2000, but that sentence was thrown out on appeal.On Monday, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Lawrence R. Daniels handed down the life sentence."He is a monster, and he probably should die," the father, Chuck Poehlman, told 11 News reporter Lowell Melser. "I didn't feel like I should just keep pushing to have his life end."Miller pleaded guilty in August 2007 to killing 17-year-old Shen Poehlman, of Eldersburg.One day after the girl agreed to baby-sit for Miller, her body was found in her car about a mile from Miller's apartment.
Shen Poehlman
Prosecutor Robin Coffin, who has been involved with the case from the beginning, said the Poehlman family is very brave."Their loss is enormous, but their strength and courage to continue to come to court and to seek justice for Shen is quite powerful," she said.Poehlman called it a small victory and part of the healing process but said he'll never forget the day he lost his daughter."When people ask me (and say) 'I can't imagine,' I say don't try because it's just devastating," he said.
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11 News Reporter Lowell Melser
