Mother And Daughter Found Slain In Gary

Bernice Williams lost two big pieces of her life on Friday.

Police found Williams' mother and sister murdered in their Gary, Ind. home.

"It's really sad because I won't see my mom or my sister again," she said in a tearful news conference on Saturday afternoon. "It's hard, it's hard."

The bodies of Lillie and Doressa Miller were found late Friday in their home on the 700 block of Tyler St.

Lillie Miller, 79, was pronounced dead on the scene at 10 p.m. Donessa Miller, 52, was pronounced dead at 9:34 p.m. at Methodist Hospital North Lake Campus in Gary, a Lake County, Ind., Coroner’s office spokesman said.

The Coroner said Saturday the two women were smothered.

Gary police said Saturday they have no one in custody, but are questioning a person of interest.

In a city that's seen plenty of decay, Lillie Miller's tidy brick house was a beacon.

"She was an early bird," said neighbor Bunny Flemming. "I get up to walk my dog and she's out cleaning the yard."

Flemming says she lived most of her life a couple doors down from Miller. She says Miller took great pride in her home and worked hard to spread that feeling around.

"She was into trying the block together," Flemming said. "Raising money to keep the vacant lots mowed and all that kind of stuff."

On a block where every other house has an alarm system, neighbors say the Millers went without until something scary happened two weeks ago.

The brick garage behind their home was set on fire, along with two of the family's cars.

Gary police will not say if those fires and the murders are connected, but neighbors say one of lillie miller's granddaughters had a problem with a stalker.

Bernice Williamson would not explain that, but says her mother and sister's killer probably was not a stranger.

"I am puzzled because I wonder how in the world did they get in the house," Williamson said. "It must have been somebody my sister knew."