An Iowa man charged in theslaying of three women in Utahallegedly confessed to the killings, telling authorities "'it had to be done' but he did not like to do it," court documents filed Thursday show.
Charging documents filed in Sixth District Court in Utah allege that Ivan Miller, 22, told law enforcement officers that he shot the women with a .45 handgun and stabbed one of them multiple times.
"Miller said he did it because he needed money," the documents allege.
He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, according to the documents. It isn't clear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
The women, who have not been identified, were found Wednesday at two locations near Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah.
They do not appear to have had prior connections to Miller, a spokesperson for the Utah Highway Patrol said.
One of the women, described as elderly, was found in a cellar under a shed on her property in Lyman, according to the documents.
Miller allegedly told authorities that he'd stayed the night in the shed and entered the woman's home when she left. He waited for her behind a door, the documents allege, then shot her in the back of the head as she sat down to watch television.
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Miller said he dragged the woman to the basement and took her car, a Buick LeSabre, the documents allege, "but he did not like the car and wanted to find a different vehicle."
He told authorities that he parked near a trail and saw two women — one younger, the other older — exit a white Subaru, according to the court documents.
Miller said he approached the women and shot them, the documents allege. When the older woman continued moving, Miller allegedly said he stabbed her in the heart multiple times with a knife, according to the documents.
He then dragged the women to a ditch and laid them next to each other, the documents state.
Miller said he took the women's credit cards and used one to buy gas.
The husbands of the women who were shot on the trail discovered their bodies and called authorities, a spokesperson for the Utah Highway Patrol said. A Bureau of Land Management ranger who was dispatched to the scene discovered the elderly woman's Buick there.
After abandoning that car, the spokesperson said, investigators believe Miller took a vehicle that belonged to one of the other victims — described in the documents as a Subaru Outback — and fled.
The husband of one of the alleged victims was able to track the location of the Subaru's key fob, according to the documents. Authorities tracked the vehicle to Pegosa Springs, Colorado, where Miller was taken into custody at 2:45 a.m. Thursday.