Kriti Mehrotra
It was 1999 when everything turned upside down for Jerry Cassaday, as he believed he had found the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, only to later realize she had manipulated him. As explored in ABC’s ’20/20: You’ve Got Mail,’ he fell head over heels in love with Sharee Miller after coming across her in an AOL chat room, unaware he would end up killing for her. He had no idea he was a victim too, and by the time he figured out the truth, it was already too late. Nevertheless, even in grief and despair, he ensured justice would be served.
Despite His Struggles, Jerry Cassaday Was a Proud Family Man
Born on October 6, 1960, in Kansas City, Missouri, as the youngest of four sons, Jerry Cassaday grew up in a household filled with love, laughter, support, and warmth. According to the show, he had a deep-seated desire to stand out from the crowd and build his own name in life, which ultimately drove him to establish a career in the police force. He started as a patrolman but eventually rose up the ladder to serve as a homicide detective, only to retire early after an incident that left him shaken to the core.
By the time 1999 rolled around, Jerry had relocated to Reno, Nevada, to work in a casino. Still, he was going through a divorce, struggling financially, and allegedly having trouble with alcohol abuse. That’s when he first met Sharee Miller in an AOL chat room, and a normal conversation between them soon turned into something much more. The connection was so deep for Jerry that he soon fell in love with her and even told his mother he had finally met the “woman of (his) dreams.” The fact that Sharee came to see him in Reno several times in the ensuing few months only strengthened Jerry’s belief that they belonged together, so he was over the moon when she told him she was pregnant.
However, Jerry’s joy was short-lived as she soon messaged him that her allegedly abusive, mafia-man husband had found out and beaten her until she had lost their baby. Jerry was “devastated,” which spiraled into more after he heard her husband had allegedly forced her to abort their second pregnancy, with twins, too. Sharee had reportedly told him just a few months later that she was pregnant again, with twins, only for him to receive an email not long after, seemingly from her husband Bruce Miller, asserting he had forced her to have an abortion. Jerry was heartbroken because he wanted to build a life and a family with Sharee. He had children from his previous unions, and he wanted to continue being a family man.
Jerry Cassaday Died By Suicide After Realizing the Truth About Sharee Miller
In his grief and anger, Jerry agreed to his girlfriend’s idea when she suggested removing her husband from the picture for good. By this point, he had returned to his home state to be near his family and deal with his issues. He was allegedly depressed and trying to be sober, as per the show. Therefore, he drove to Michigan, met his girlfriend at a rest area, and took the phone she gave him, along with the final instructions/plans of the homicide. Late in the evening of November 8, 1999, former police officer Jerry fatally shot Bruce Miller in the neck and upper back at his scrapyard office, following which he gave his girlfriend a missed call to signal the job was done and returned to Missouri.
Jerry realized the gravity of what he had done, but he didn’t figure out Sharee had lied about the pregnancies, her husband being abusive, and everything else until she began pulling away from him in the ensuing days. In fact, according to records, she went clubbing a couple of days after the homicide and had allegedly even moved a new boyfriend into her marital home within a month. The realization that Sharee had lied to him and manipulated him reportedly shattered Jerry, especially considering how far he had gone for her.
On February 11, 2000, Jerry died by suicide in his Odessa, Missouri, home. Per reports, the 39-year-old shot himself in the head. However, he left a black briefcase under his bed for his family to find, which contained a suicide note and all the evidence against Sharee that officials might need. He had left behind records of their affair in the form of video recordings, flight details, and hotel bills, along with printouts of their chats as well as emails that detailed the murder plot. All of this played a key role in the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Sharee Miller in connection with the homicide of her husband, Bruce Miller.
Read More: Sharee Miller: Where is the Killer Now?
