Standoff Ends When Gunman Who Held Son Shoots Himself Texas Fugitive Dies In Spokane Hospital After 3-Hour Ordeal; Boy Ok

A two-week hunt for a Texas fugitive ended in the Spokane Valley on Monday when he shot himself in the head after holding a gun on his 19-month-old son for nearly three hours.

Kevin Ronald Miller, 31, is accused by Texas authorities of shooting his common-law wife, killing her mother and kidnapping the boy. Miller died Monday night at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Authorities are trying to determine what brought Miller to the Spokane Valley, where he and his son were discovered Monday morning sleeping in a car in a motel parking lot.

“The information we had was that he was headed to California, so Spokane was a shock,” said Lt. Bud Baker of the Bexar County (Texas) Sheriff’s Department.

Miller had a history of domestic violence. The shootings in Texas were outlined recently on the television program “America’s Most Wanted.”

The toddler, Dylan Miller, wasn’t injured. His father held a gun to the boy’s head as they hunkered inside a Nissan Maxima that was surrounded by sheriff’s deputies.

Wearing a diaper and dirty flannel shirt, the boy was rushed to the Sheriff’s Department’s makeshift headquarters at a nearby hotel.

One witness said the boy, who was kidnapped from his mother on Thursday, looked like he hadn’t been washed in days.

The boy “didn’t talk to us, but he seems to be lively, interacting with people,” said Spokane County Sheriff John Goldman. “Let’s hope this is (an emotional) scar that doesn’t last.”

The toddler was taken into custody by state Child Protective Services. Miller’s father-in-law, Michael Kennedy, said during a news conference in Texas that he plans to come to Spokane this week to retrieve his grandson.

But Miller’s parents, Horace and Jacqueline Geiger, arrived Monday night at Spokane International Airport and said they want to “take our grandson back home.”

Horace Geiger declined further comment, saying, “We’re grieving right now. Please understand what we’re going through.”

By shooting himself, “Kevin Miller did make a contribution to society, finally, for the first time in his life,” Kennedy said.

In recent weeks, Michael Kennedy has buried his wife and stood vigil in an Austin hospital where his daughter is listed in serious condition. His daughter, Alison Kennedy, is at least partially paralyzed and may never talk again, Texas newspapers have reported.

Texas authorities say the shootings stemmed from a bitter custody dispute over Dylan.

A Texas judge granted Alison Kennedy’s request for a restraining order in March. She testified that Miller had threatened her and hit Dylan, the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News reported.

Miller threatened to kill every member of Kennedy’s family, then commit suicide, Michael Kennedy said.

Miller became a fugitive earlier this month, when Texas authorities accused him of capital murder for the execution-style killing of his mother-in-law.

The body of Karen Kennedy, 49, was discovered May 4 in a field near San Antonio. The killer bound her hands and feet with duct tape and shot her in the left temple, authorities said.

Kennedy’s family went into hiding after the murder, coming out of cover only briefly for the funeral. Alison and Dylan Kennedy went to live with her sister and brother-in-law in Austin.

On Thursday, Texas authorities said, Miller abducted the brother-in-law outside an Austin apartment, bound him with duct tape and used him as a hostage to force his way into the room where Alison and Dylan Kennedy were sleeping.

Alison Kennedy fired her own gun into the air after Miller grabbed the boy and started running. Police believe she didn’t aim at Miller for fear of wounding her son.

Several witnesses said Miller shot back, striking Alison Kennedy twice in the head and once in the thigh.

On Monday, Joe Johnson, a guard for Metro Security Inc., was making his rounds of Spokane Valley businesses about 3:45 a.m. when he spotted the Maxima parked behind the Super 8 Motel, 2020 N. Argonne. The car’s engine was running.

Johnson didn’t know that the adult sleeping in the car was a fugitive, and only called deputies to ask the driver to move off motel property.

Johnson said deputies determined that the Texas license plates on the Maxima had been stolen. They were talking with Miller when the fugitive gunned his car, nearly hitting a deputy, who broke out the driver’s side window with his flashlight.

Miller’s car rammed a patrol car, then two other cars in the motel parking lot. Two people in one of the cars apparently were uninjured, Johnson said.

“He came flying around here with half his car gone. I gave chase,” said Johnson, who used his security car to chase Miller about two blocks to a parking lot near the Marie Callender’s restaurant and Days Inn motel.

With his two left tires flattened, Miller made it no farther.

Johnson said he crouched behind his car door and aimed his handgun at Miller until deputies arrived a few seconds later. Then he retreated to the Super 8.

About 15 minutes later, at the Days Inn, Sheren Kripps of Vernon, British Columbia, was having trouble sleeping for all the commotion outside.

“Somebody yelled, ‘I warned you!’ and then I heard two shots,” said Kripps.

One of the two bullets Miller fired hit the door of a patrol car, said sheriff’s Deputy David Reagan. Detectives have not found where the second bullet hit.

About 5 a.m., deputies ordered Kripps and other guests to leave their rooms on the north side of the Days Inn so they would not be hit by stray bullets. They gathered in the motel lobby, away from windows.

Miller covered the car windows with blankets so officers could not see inside. Police sharpshooters aimed their rifles at the Nissan from the second floor of the Days Inn.

A bomb squad robot was brought to the scene in case it was needed by negotiators to deliver a telephone to Miller. Texas authorities described Miller as a tattooed, muscular knife collector who was experienced with explosives.

At the Super 8, Johnson was listening on a police scanner at 6:50 a.m., when officers announced Miller had shot himself and that they could hear “baby noises.”

“I guess praying helped,” the security guard said.

Miller had indicated he would give himself up shortly before putting the handgun to his own head and pulling the trigger, Goldman said.

Guests at the Days Inn were allowed to leave about 7 a.m., when Argonne, which had been blocked off, reopened.

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The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Dan Hansen Staff writer Staff writer Kevin Blocker and The Associated Press contributed to this report.