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CHAPTER 16

On May 7th 1997, my nephew Ervin couldn't take it any longer. All his steps he had taken in the past to try to stop his parents from further abuse had failed. Ervin said, "My parents have to be stopped." On May 8th, Ervin arrived in St. Lawrence County, New York. Ervin had a brief conversation with his parents, hoping to convince them to stop abusing his brothers and sisters. But his parents refused to listen to their son's request. Around ten thirty that morning Ervin made a phone call to St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department requesting that his parents be arrested on child abuse charges.

A Deputy arrived at the Miller residence shortly after Ervin made the phone call. Detective Jerry Wayner arrived at the Miller residence about fifteen minutes later. Detective Wayner immediately called the District Attorney Roy Vance for advice about the possible removal of Andy and Emma Miller. Roy refused to give Jerry the okay to make an initial arrest before Jerry first cleared it with Atlee Byler, who operates a local furniture shop out side of Heuvelton.

Atlee isn't a preacher; he is only a member of the Miller church. He had very close ties to the district Attorney's office. The District Attorney had simply left it up to Atlee whether or not Andy and Emma could be removed from there, or be charged with any crime.

Jerry and Ervin went to Atlee's home and asked for his permission to take further action. Atlee said, "Jerry, do what ever you have to, I can't give you an answer yes or no." Jerry and Ervin arrived back at the Miller home. The uninformed officer was getting impatient. He had been on the scene since ten thirty that morning. It was now close to four o'clock in the afternoon. The District Attorney refused to give them the okay to make an arrest. Finally the uninformed officer was so frustrated that he took it upon himself to arrest Andy Miller on allegations of child abuse.

The following day Emma was also removed from the Miller home on charges of child abuse. Immediately, orders of protection were signed so Andy and Emma Miller weren't allowed to step foot on their property where the ten Miller children remained. Ten of the Miller children remained at their home. The ages ranged from four years old to the age of twenty. Social Services were immediately awarded custody of the Miller children under the age of eighteen. Michelle, Kevin and Rachel were to supervise their younger brothers and sisters since they were above the age of eighteen.

The week of the 15th, third degree felony assault charges were filed against Andy Miller for abusing his children. Ervin was desperately trying to get his younger brothers and sisters signed up for food stamps. This wasn't an easy task since none of them had any birth certificates or social security numbers and were Amish. That was three strikes against them.

The first time the caseworker said, "It's against your religion to receive Government benefits." And simply talked them out of it.

When Andy and Emma were initially removed from their home, they cleared out their checking and saving accounts and left their children without a dollar in their name. The Amish community was showing no support toward the Miller children. The Amish tried their best to discredit them. It was so bad that an order of protection was signed against St. Lawrence County Amish community.

When Andy and Emma were removed from their home, Bishop Jacob Miller's son provided them with free room and board. After May 8th, the ten remaining children immediately had a Court appointed Attorney, Mr. Hyde. But the children weren't aware they had an attorney and Mr. Hyde came out to see them.

The children were horrified, they needed medical attention, and they felt everyone was giving them a run around. They thought they had no other option but to call their uncle who has been excommunicated and asked for help.

On the evening of 5-27-97, I received the phone call from the Miller children that I had been expecting for years. While I was talking to the Miller children that evening, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They advised me that nobody had been working with them except their neighbor, Jack Wayner, who had been really good to them and helped them out. Jack had donations already set up and notified churches. The Amish hadn't been providing any support for the Miller children, and they hadn't been donating any money or food.

On May 29th, Fran called the St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department and talked to their receptionist. She advised me that Sergeant Jerry Wayner wanted an interview with me over the phone about the Andy Miller Case. I advised the Sergeant Detective that I would, if this case was not covered up like all the rest had been. I had full intentions of not letting that happen. Jerry assured me that justice would be done.

At that point I told him that I wouldn't intervene with justice. I also talked to Sherry Sharon from Social Services on May 29th and told her basically the same thing. We made arrangements to go to upstate New York to see what we could do to help our nieces and nephews. On May 30th, we left for New York, arriving there the next day. I talked to my brother Pete for a couple hours in the morning, then went to Andy Miller's residence and ate breakfast with the children. Neither one of these children could talk fast enough to Fran and I. Also on May 30th, we had a job interview.

On the first of June, we visited with our friends Ralph, and Carol Gibson in Hannibal, New York. The next day we distributed fliers through Wayne and Holmes County. My family and I visited Kenneth Miller, who used to be my neighbor. Kenneth Miller asked me if I was willing to make a speech to a lot of different sectors of the Amish.

Everyone we came in contact with when we were passing out fliers said it was sad and a terrible case of abuse. When it came right down to it, no one would lift a finger to help those children or stand behind us. The only ones, I had standing behind me and supporting me, were Fran and our two lovely daughters, Debra, now, age 18 and Rebecca, 13.

The girls wanted to be involved in helping their cousins. They couldn't understand why the Amish would beat their children like that. We passed out a total of a 100 fliers on June third in Wayne and Holmes County, Ohio. We also stopped in Knox County, Ohio and visited my sister. On June 4th, we went to Cincinnati, Ohio for orientation for our new job. I had to quit my previous job, because I needed more time off. While in orientation these two days, we were constantly on the phone with our children to see if anybody responded to fliers we passed out.

On June 6th, we tried to run an ad in the Sugar Creek, Ohio Budget. The ad read as follows: "For information on the Swartzentruber Amish Child Abuse Case. Contact David Yoder P.O. Box 328 Old Washington, OH. 43768. For donations call Heuvelton, N.Y. Bank." In the meanwhile, in orientation and having all the trucking regulations thrown at us that they possibly could, and all the company Policies that went with it. Fran and I found it difficult to concentrate. But we managed. On June 6th, we got a load of freight and headed to California.

On June Sixth, I talked to my nephew Ervin Miller from Ohio. I talked to Jack Wayner concerning my nieces and nephews, trying to get a copy of the Andy and Emma's arrest records. Also, I talked to Detective Jerry Wayner concerning the case. Jerry said he was looking for any kind of help he could get. He had been trying to get a court date, and was worried that if they settled things in Family Court there'd be no Criminal Court.

Andy made the statement that he and Emma wanted to throw their 5 oldest children at home out of the house, and keep the five youngest. I said, "Jack, don't worry. It's far from over yet; all hell is fixing to break loose. I'm going to get at everyone involved in it, from all different angles." I added, "It wouldn't be over until I said it was over and I intend to save my nieces and nephews no matter what."

Also, I talked to Larry from ABC on the 6th. We talked about the case and whether we could get their affiliate from Watertown, N.Y. involved. On June 6th, talked to Jack Wayner again, to reassure him that I would do anything in my power to see that justice would be done.

At this time, the Miller children remained at their parents' home, while the parents are somewhere in hiding. Everyone I have come in contact with concerning this case tells me to stay cool and calm, that it’s the only way I can turn this case around. On June 7th, I talked to Jerry Wayner and faxed him documents stating Civil Rights Violations, corruption and cover up. Social Services were failing to adequately take care of the Miller children. They were making this a religious issue not a child abuse issue.

I also spoke to Jerry Wayner to make sure he got the documents and that he would distribute them to the District Attorney, Family Court Judge, Commissioner of Social Services and Attorney for Social Services, to be on their door step for Monday on June 9th. This was followed up with another document on June 8th, just to re-enforce the first one, stating basically the same.

In the meantime, we were under a hot load of freight. We left Cincinnati, Ohio on June 6th at 7:30 A.M. and arrived in Los Angeles, California on June 8th at 11:30 A.M. The documents that were faxed to St. Lawrence Sheriffs Department also stated that the F.B.I. and TV stations would be notified of the Social Services wrongdoings for failing to provide adequate medical assistance to the Miller children.

On June 9th, we were in Los Angeles, California Watkins Terminal waiting for a load of freight. We contacted the F.B.I. Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on June 9th, and they told us to contact the F.B.I. Headquarters in New York and gave us the phone number. On June 9th, we called F.B.I. Headquarters in New York City, faxed them newspaper clippings and filed a complaint of allegations of possible Civil Rights violations. Michelle and James had been severely beaten that it was life threatening. For no other reason, but they refused to join their parents' church.

I believe this to be in violation of the Civil Rights Act. Corruption and possible cover up involves Social Services from St. Lawrence County, New York. They hadn't been forthcoming in trying to help the Miller children. The first time the Miller children attempted to sign up for food stamps, Social Services said, "You aren't allowed to have them." On the Miller children's second attempt they were again persuaded to drop the issue.

After I had faxed a document stating this is in the violation of the Miller children's Civil Rights by refusing them food stamps simply because they're Amish, Social Services denied that they ever refused the Miller children any public assistance. On the Miller
children's third attempt Social Services made them aware that they need Social Security numbers and birth certificates in order to qualify for public assistance.

I told the F.B.I. that I was deeply concerned that the District Attorney wouldn't allow the officers on the scene at the Miller home to take any legal action before it was first cleared with his closest and best Amish friend Atlee Byler. Atlee had made a statement to me in the past, as long as Roy Vance was the District Attorney, no matter what kind of legal trouble the Amish should get into, that he was confident Roy would let the Amish deal with the problem the Amish way, no matter how serious the issue may be.

The F.B.I. Duty Agent asked us to wait a few hours and call back, so they'd have time to review the clippings and report after our fax was received. In the meantime, I was on the phone talking to Anthony Hutchins the editor of Watertown Newspaper.

Also, I faxed Anthony information concerning the case. From there, I talked to reporter Clyde Jarvis up in the Canton, New York area. I went into details about the child abuse in the Miller family ever since there have been children in that family.
I explained the rigid control that the Swartzentruber Amish have in upstate New York, and the different conservative sectors of the Amish along with the alleged cover up of an Amish Preacher in Wayne County, Ohio who abused his son. I told him of my belief that Jacob Miller is obsessed with total control of his culture. Jacob's church was the strictest Amish church I'd heard of.

I put one pay phone down and picked up another one and was talking to the F.B.I. again, in New York Headquarters office. This time I went into more details about the Amish and their rigid control. From there the F.B.I. advised me that they would fax these papers to the Head of New York State Social Services.

They told me what I had to do, and what worked and what didn't. They gave me the phone numbers for Albany, New York and Syracuse, New York. I called the Albany, New York office and asked for their fax number. The Albany Agent also had us call back on June 10th to give the Civil Rights Division time to review the clippings and personal report we faxed them.

On June 10th, I talked to Jack Wayner again, Andy Miller's neighbor, to check on my nieces and nephews. Jack was frustrated. Jack said he didn't think there was one good Amish man in upstate New York. Jack was afraid that the case was being covered up, totally, and the parents were being put back in the house. Jack had been such a good friend to my nieces and nephews. He gave them support when no one else would have. I talked to my nephew Ervin on June 11th, concerning his brothers and sisters. I advised him that I was doing everything I could to bring the F.B.I. in on this, to see that justice was finally done.

I talked to Larry at ABC again and to Tim Hunt, Watertown TV station about the Andy Miller case of Civil Rights violations and possible cover up. On June 11th, Tim Hunt of the TV newsroom phoned me, and we set up a date to give my nieces and nephews a live interview on June 16, 1997.

On June 12th, I talked to my nephew Ervin from Ohio. I asked, "Ervin, if you and your brothers James and Peter could please come to New York on June 16th to help support their brothers and sisters, so we can turn the case around." A representative from Social Services went to the Miller residence in New York and apologized for their negligence in the case. This took place on June 11th, and the Miller children's Attorney had finally made arrangements to interview them.

However, I was not aware of this. I had already written another Civil Rights report on behalf of my nieces and nephews. A copy was faxed to the F.B.I. office in Albany, New York early in the morning of June 12th. On that same day, I sent newspaper clippings and reports to the Geraldo Rivera show.

On June 13th, I talked to Jerry Wayner, Andy Miller's neighbor. He told me that a couple of days earlier the Amish Deacon, Kevin Yoder's son, Rudy, age 20, stopped in front of Andy Miller's house and threatened Raymond, age seven, with the buggy whip. Detective Jerry Wayner of St. Lawrence Sheriffs Department was called. Both Jack Wayner and Jerry Wayner advised Kevin that they would not tolerate any more of this harassment.

On the same day, I called the Governor of the State of New York. I also called the White House, and I sent the Governor of New York State, the President of the United States, and the Attorney General a copy of everything I had. I talked once again to the reporter Clyde Jarvis from the Watertown Newspaper.

Clyde said, "If you come up here and bring the TV cameras you'll probably be arrested. I think that some kind of order was passed, but I can't comment any further."

On June 14,1997, I rode my bike up into Wayne County and Holmes County in a last attempt to see if there was any kind of change of heart among the Amish Community. I wanted to talk to my nephews, but I only got to talk to the oldest one, Ervin. I believe he could have talked for days about the abuse they suffered, and the beatings they all took and how he had to threaten his father so he could get his baby sister medical attention. Ervin was devastated that his own people, his brothers and sisters, didn't want to support him.

I told my nephew Ervin, "I'm proud of you, and I'm going to see that justice is done no matter what it takes."

I knew that I was stepping on a lot of powerful people's toes. I didn't care what happened to me, but I was deeply concerned for the well being of my wife and daughters. They insisted on standing by me. On the evening of the 14th I called my wife from the Wayne County Amish settlement. I advised her I had a bad feeling about our trip to New York State. I was afraid for our safety.

I had her contact every TV station in the State of Ohio, and send them a copy of every document we had in our possession on the Andy Miller case. On June 15,1997, we started out to New York State. We arrived in Hannibal, New York and visited friends until about 11:30 P.M. Then, we decided it would be better for our own safety to show up at the Miller's residence after midnight. That way, almost everybody would be sleeping.

We arrived in Watertown, New York around 2:00 A.M. And called 20/20 and left a message on Larry's machine, to assure that none of what was happening would be covered up. It was now June 16, 1997, and I wasn't going to take any chances.

We had ABC affiliate, WWTI, a TV station out of Watertown, up at the Miller residence to let the Miller children speak their piece. This was definitely a day of mixed emotions.
On June 16th, we did the interview. The children were glad to see their Uncle Dave and his family. I was thrilled that WWTI TV was able to make it. I also took some pictures and a video.

The Watertown newspaper was not going to run the article, so I informed them that
I would take action against them. They ran our article.

So, three good things took place that Monday. The children now believed that there is someone out there that does care, we were in the newspaper, plus we had a news TV station there. It was also Fran's and my wedding anniversary we had been married for 20 years. No one involved in the case showed up at the Miller residence, and no one got arrested.

We were waiting for statements from Doctors, stating that Michelle's hip was pulled out of its socket due to abuse, and James's scars were all caused by abuse, and Betty could possibly have mental problems the rest of her life, because of abuse. I also talked to nephew Ervin Miller on the phone. Ervin advised me that his sister Anna's husband is mentally unstable because of this case.

Joe, Anna's husband, had threatened to commit suicide on June 15, 1997. He said that when he married into the Miller family, he didn't ask for all these problems. Joe's dad is a Bishop of the Swartzentruber Amish. However, his dad was no help in this case.

On June 17,1997, I talked to my nephew Ervin, his wife, and my family and I had supper at Ervin's place that evening. Ervin said, "Uncle David, I'm not going to shun you. Sit down and let's all eat at the same table. I believe God is concerned with what's in your heart, not the clothes you wear."

We had a very enjoyable time there, though we mostly talked about the case and what we could do to turn it around. We stayed at Ervin's place till after midnight. It was around 1:30 A.M. when we got home, and we sent the children to bed. After that Fran and I got back to preparing documents and going over what material we had pertaining to the case. We stayed up till 6:30 that morning, till our bodies were totally exhausted.

We slept till about 11:30 A.M. When we woke up we didn't even take time to get dressed we just put on our housecoats. Our two daughters got up a little bit before we did and had made themselves breakfast. Fran and I didn't even take time to wash our hands or drink a cup of coffee. We got right to preparing more documents. We also had to make copies of our previous documents, which was going to take us all day. Debra and Becky went to Krogers and ran off a couple of sets of copies. After they got back, Debra said, "Dad, I have an appointment with an Army Recruiter at 2:00 P.M. which is going to take a couple hours. Can Becky come with me?"

"Sure," I said. "That's a great idea. Mom and I are going to be busy on this case all day anyhow."

Fran made a phone call to Jack Wayner in New York, who was trying to get the medical records and documents, we'd been promised. Jack Wayner's wife Donna answered the phone, and told Fran, "It's going to take more time than we originally thought."

Fran asked how Andy's children were doing. Donna said that she had taken the kids to the local doctor for check ups. She discovered that four year old, Malinda had a heart murmur, and six year old, Catherine had scars up and down her body, caused by beatings.

Fran said, "Donna, thank you for what you have done for our nieces and nephews, but we need those documents."

Donna said, "We should have them by tomorrow." That was the end of the conversation. Fran thanked her once again and hung up. This was about three o'clock in the afternoon. By this time I had some typing for Fran to do. While she was doing the typing, I looked over every last document we had very carefully. I knew the way to win this case was to make absolutely no errors.

By the time the typing was done, and I was done checking the documents, it was five-thirty in the evening. We were trying to get a copy mailed off to ABC 20/20 in New York City, WWTI channel 50 in Watertown, New York and also NBC TV Station out of Columbus, Ohio, but it was too late to be mailed on the eighteenth of June.

We still hadn't taken time to get dressed, eat, or even have a cup of coffee, and I told Fran we might as well do it. Once we were showered and dressed, we decided to go up to Wayne County, Ohio, and see my nephew Ervin.

Ervin and I are a lot a like, we have one thing in common, both of our wives' maiden names are Swartzentruber, and they're first cousins. I must say he has good taste. By the time we were ready to leave for Wayne County our daughters hadn't came back from the interview yet, so we left them a note and told them where we were going. We got on interstate 77 and headed north toward Strawsburg, Ohio. We hadn't gone ten miles when we looked at each other and realized we'd forgotten to eat anything. Once we got to thinking about food, we discovered we were starved. We stopped at a drive-thru, picked up a few burgers, and continued on our way. Ervin and Ann were glad to see us.

I was hoping that Ervin might say something in the conversation that he had forgotten about, that might be of further help. We didn't stay very long. We were ready to go to work on June 19,1997 and try to get this case particularity out of our minds for twenty-four hours if we could. We got back home around eight thirty that evening. Our two daughters were home, and all excited about the interview that Katie had with the recruiter. We sat up and talked till about ten thirty that night, and then went to bed.

On the morning of June 19,1997, we loaded up the car and went to Cincinnati, Ohio to go to work. Frank and Kelly are the owners of Cross County Trucking, which is who we were working for. They were very supportive of what we are doing. They leased us out to Watkins, so all we do is drop and hook from terminal to terminal. We picked a load up out of Cincinnati, Ohio for Los Angeles, California. I called my nephew Ervin again in the evening of June 19th . He said he had talked to the children's Attorney, Ed Hyde.

Ervin said, "Ed Hyde said they are in the process of bringing Emma, the mother of the children back into the home." Ervin talked to his brothers and sisters, and they all agreed they didn't want either of their parents back in the house, that they were afraid for their lives, especially now.

My response was, "Oh boy. We can't let this happen. Try not to worry, Ervin. And remember: the TV station, WWTI in Watertown, New York is standing by and waiting for a phone call. If it comes to it, I'll simply give them a call and take them right back up there."

I told Ervin I was under a hot load of freight and that I would talk to him Friday. On Friday of June 20, 1997, I prepared a major document for the children's attorney Ed Hyde. This same document was also faxed to Jerry Wayner, and the Sheriffs' Department. This was a document detailing the inconsistencies of statements made by Ed Hyde, who was talking in favor of bringing Emma Miller back into the home. The children asked for my help, and I had to try to help them fire their attorney.

My niece Michelle had also called Jerry Wayner. He arrived at the farm bright and early. The children told him that they no longer trusted him or their attorney. Jerry was upset and said quite a few cuss words. But the children had a good reason for not trusting him or the attorney. At this time, Mr. Hyde wasn't forthcoming with the children. Detective Jerry Wayner also made mixed statements about their parents.
Jerry Wayner left the Andy Miller residence to talk to Ed Hyde. He was sitting in Ed Hyde's office discussing Miller children's complaint when Ed Hyde received a fax notifying him I'd fired him. I couldn't have timed it any better. Less than five minutes after he received the fax Michelle called him up to tell him that he was fired. Forty-five minutes later he was out at the Miller residence trying his best to smooth out the distrust that the Miller children had toward him. The children gave him another chance.
By the time Detective Wayner arrived at his office where I'd sent a copy of the fax, I was getting a phone call from his cousin Jack, who sounded nervous. He said that I had to back off because I was stepping on very important people's toes. He was trying to explain to me how the system worked.

He asked me, "Don't you trust me?"

I said, "I'm not talking about you."

"I know these people and they are very good people," Jack commented. However, I knew Jack was a first cousin to Detective Jerry Wayner.

Therefore, I just laughed over the telephone, then said, "Everyone involved in this case have absolutely nothing to worry about as long as they had followed the letter of the law to a T. If they haven't done so in the past or are not doing it at present, they're going to have a major problem. "It's that simple!" I told him to have a nice day and hung up.

Fran had talked to Michelle that morning, and I talked Ervin that evening. Fran and I drove more than 1,000 miles together that day. Sometimes, I wished I could just relax, get some sleep, and go on with my own life. On Saturday of June 21,1997, I tried to stay busy working and concentrating on my job. We tried to run as many miles as we could and get plenty of sleep. I called Ervin to talk more about the case, and called home to talk to my lovely daughters.

On Sunday, June 22,1997 it was time to prepare a major document to be faxed to Ed Hyde, Roy Vance and Detective Jerry Wayner and Social Services. This document will be more detailed on a Civil Rights Association. By 10:30 A.M. Monday, June 23,1997, everyone involved had received their fax. That included the F.B.I. and the Bar Association. Also, I talked to my nephew Ervin that evening, again on a hot load of freight.

That evening, Ed Hyde arrived at the Miller residence. He talked to Michelle and told her there'd be a Court date on Wednesday concerning her Mother trying to get back into the house, but he did not mention anything about their Father, nor did he give her the time the court started or how long it would last.

On Tuesday, June 24,1997, I contacted WWTI, in Watertown. I talked to them twice and also sent a fax. Jeena from the station wanted to know when court started, when it would be over, and what it was all about. I told her that my sister was trying to get back into the house. Jeena asked me to please let her know if and when I received any new information. Someone would be in the office until 11:00 p.m. that night. At 8:00 P.M. I called Ervin. He didn't know anything more than I knew.

It had just so happened that his brother had gone on a vacation to New York. He arrived in New York late that evening. Ervin and Peter both live in Wayne County, Ohio with less conservative Amish . Therefore, each of them has a telephone right by their house. Ervin called his sister-in-law to tell her if Peter calls home to call Ervin immediately.

Peter called home shortly after and told Ervin that we have to have a time when court starts on Wednesday on this case. Peter called Ed Hyde and luckily, he was in his office. He talked to Mr. Hyde for a while, but he still didn't say anything about their dad being in court. Ed told Peter that he might as well stay in Ohio because it was kind of late anyhow. Peter didn't tell Ed that he was already in New York.

I had given the phone number to Ervin for WWTI earlier that day and Ervin gave it to Peter that evening on the phone. Right after Peter hung up the phone with the attorney, Peter called his brother Ervin and gave him the information. Then, after Peter hung up with Ervin, Peter made a call to the TV station. Then Ervin phoned my house and told our daughters what time court started. Then my pager went off.

In the meantime, Ervin made a phone call to Ed Hyde. Ed told Ervin the same thing he told Peter. He again didn't mention anything about his dad being in court. Meanwhile, I was looking for a truck station with a pay phone. I pulled off at the nearest truck stop to call home, and the girls gave me the news and I thanked them. It was about 10:15 p.m. when I made a call to WWTI.

The woman who answered the phone advised me that my nephew Peter had called a few minutes earlier. I told her how important it was. She said that she was fully aware of the importance and someone would be at Canton, New York by 7:00. I thanked her and hung up. Then, I called Ervin to talk to him about it. We were laughing and talking about how they thought they were going to out smart us for not informing us that Andy and Emma were going to be in court together.

Still, we couldn't figure out why the attorney wouldn't let the children know that in Ohio and what time and day the court date would be set for. On Wednesday morning, June 25, 1997, the day of the court hearing, Peter Miller was in for a surprise. Andy and Emma were desperately trying to discredit their allegations of extreme child abuse and hoping to convince the judge to let them go home. Both of his parents had a court appearance for trying to get back into the house.

Everyone else who showed up for court was surprised. We had the TV cameras up there. All the Amish Preachers of Jacob Miller's church, plus a few members, had shown up to support Emma and Andy Miller for beating their children.

Testifying on behalf of Andy and Emma Miller was Bishop Jacob Miller. While under oath Bishop Jacob Miller stated that he was well aware of the beatings the Miller children had received and furthermore, had Okayed those beatings. Jacob Miller was on the stand for an hour and a half.

There at last, the only thing Bishop Jacob Miller said was, "I don't recall." Preacher Norman Miller, my nieces and nephews' Grandfather, he also testified on behalf of his son that his Grandchildren just didn't listen or get their work done.

The only people who arrived to support Michelle were her brother Peter from Wayne County, Ohio, her sister Betty who had the nervous breakdown, and her neighbor Donna Wayner. However, Andy and Emma Miller were refused permission to go home with their children. After they listened to the detailed beatings of abuse, the Judges final statement was that neither one of the parents was allowed to be home with any of their children.

The Amish turned their backs on Andy and Emma Miller. The Amish said there was no way they were going to give either of them a ride home or a place to stay. Their own
attorney had to find them a place to stay at a Women's Abuse Center in Madrid , New York .

That evening after court Andy Miller told his attorney, that he was afraid for his life, he thought I was going to kill him. Therefore, the St. Lawrence Sheriff Department was called out and he made a statement to this effect.

On Thursday, June, 26,1997, I was again under a hot load of freight, trying to concentrate on work and taking care of business. I also contacted WWTI, the Watertown TV station, to do a TV interview on July the 1st in upstate New York.

On Friday June 27,1997, I made arrangements to get home to see my lovely daughters. I also called the TV station to make sure everything was ready to go for July the 1st. Despite everything, we were able to crisscross the United States and run a little better than 9,000 paid miles in 8 days.