Authorities are looking for help in locating the body of a Deptford man who was killed in Camden City in June and whose remains have yet to be found.
Forty-eight-year-old Harold “Hal” Miller, Jr. was reported missing to Deptford police on June 14, two days after he reportedly had been playing cards with friends in Camden City.
That same day, his vehicle was found, empty, in Pennsauken, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO).
Surveillance video and cell phone data showed Miller entering a home in the 2600 block of Baird Boulevard in Camden City around 11:30 a.m. June 12.
Shortly thereafter, detectives say those same recording devices captured the sound of a single gunshot.
“Miller was never seen leaving the property,” CCPO wrote in a September 11 press release.
“However, the video captured a man – later identified as Everton Thomas – moving Miller’s vehicle, and parking it where it was ultimately located in Pennsauken.”
After that incident, authorities say that Thomas’ wife, 41-year-old Sherrie Parker, and son, 23-year-old Deshawn Thomas, bought “a chainsaw, containers, trash bags, and other cleaning supplies.”
Surveillance video also showed Everton and Deshawn Thomas making multiple trips to the dumpsters at Tamarack Apartments in the Whitman Park section of the city, and “loading containers and trash bags into a vehicle before leaving the city.”
During a June 20 investigation of the Thomases’ home, investigators allege that Everton Thomas was carrying a loaded gun on his person with one round in the chamber and nine of ten rounds remaining in the magazine.
They also identified bloodstains inside the home that subsequently were confirmed by forensic testing to belong to Miller, Jr.
The following day, June 21, Everton Thomas fled to Canada. At that time, he had not been charged in connection with Miller’s death.
On September 5, however, Everton Thomas was charged with first-degree Murder, second-degree Desecration of Human Remains, and fourth-degree Tampering with Physical Evidence.
Sherrie Parker and Deshawn Thomas both were charged with second-degree Desecration of Human Remains and fourth-degree Tampering with Physical Evidence.
They were taken into custody in Camden City by the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force – Camden Division on September 8.
That same day, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested Everton Thomas at the Port of Buffalo, New York, where he had crossed back into the United States from Canada on a commercial bus.
All three defendants are being held at the Camden County jail — however, Miller, Jr.’s body has still not yet been recovered.
Camden County Prosecutor Grace MacAulay is asking anyone who may have information about the case to connect with authorities to help lay Miller, Jr. to rest.
“We’re asking for the public’s help in locating the body of Mr. Miller so we can bring answers to his grieving family,” MacAulay said in a statement October 22.
“Any information, no matter how small, could be the key to bringing them peace and helping us deliver justice,” she said.
“The family has suffered enough. It’s time to help bring their loved one home.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact CCPO Det. Jake Siegfried (856-225-5086), Camden County Police Det. Andrew Mogck (609-519-8588), or to send a tip to CAMDEN.TIPS.
All individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. An arrest is not a conviction.
