Monroe County murder trial postponed until 2025

1 hour, 29 minutes ago by Scott Hardy

Lyle Miller will now go on trial on March 17

The trial of a Madison, Missouri man accused in the 2021 death of a Monroe County woman has been postponed until next year.

A hearing was held Friday in Monroe County District Court on a motion filed in August by prosecutors with the Missouri Attorney General's Office. They asked for a delay in Lyle Miller's trial. His trial was scheduled to begin Dec. 2 and last five days, but was postponed until March 17. The motion states that a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer who was scheduled to testify was leaving the country in early December. Miller is charged with one count each of premeditated murder and tampering with evidence. Miller is charged in the death of 88-year-old Betty Hayes. She had been missing since December 2021 before her body was found in July. Miller allegedly killed Hayes by hitting her once on the head and then dumping her body in a pond on his property. In court documents, prosecutors say Hayes' throat was also slit. In April 2023, Miller told a witness he killed Hayes because he worked for her and she didn't pay him.

Miller is being held without bail in the Randolph County Jail.