‘Greed, Lies And a Coldness Of Heart’: Pennsylvania Woman Poisoned Husband with Heart Meds, Drained Bank Account

A 77-year-old Pennsylvania woman was found guilty of murdering her husband with her own heart medicine.

On April 24, a Union County jury agreed with prosecutors, who said Myrle Miller killed John Nichols five years ago to gain access to all his bank accounts and life insurance policies.

“All of it stops,” Nichols's daughter, Lori Heddings, told WNEP-TV. “This family is now going to stop.“

The Sunbury Daily Item reported the jury needed only 50 minutes to convict Miller not only of first-degree murder, but also insurance fraud, theft and other charges.

The verdict ended a five-day trial in which prosecutors said Miller wrote online about loving other men.

“This case is about greed, lies and a coldness of heart,” Jennifer Buck said during her closing argument.

A judge asked Miller if she wanted to testify in her own defense. While she declined, her attorney said Miller had power of attorney over Nichols's funds.

Authorities say Miller fed Nichols verapamil to make his heart fail. While that prescription medicine can help people with heart rhythm problems, it also can harm people with low blood pressure.

Prosecutors believe Miller “panicked“ after an Area Agency on Aging informed Nichols that someone was stealing from his bank account.

Miller was arrested in May 2021, three years after Nichols died.

Miller had been accused of marital misconduct before. She was charged with adding poison to her first husband's drinks in 1988, but a jury acquitted her of attempted murder.

Then there's the mystery of Miller's grandson. Corey Edkin disappeared from his Union County home in 1986, when he was two.

Edkin never has been found, but investigators said last fall they thought a family member was behind his disappearance.

A sentencing date for Miller has not been scheduled, pending a post-trial investigation.