Fate of Perry County coroner unclear after felony charges

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- When the Perry County Commission meets at 9 a.m. today in the administration building, Presiding Commissioner Carl Leuckel said the topic of county coroner Herbert E. Miller, charged with financial exploitation of the elderly and theft Monday, will probably be discussed.

Miller, an elected official, faces felony charges after an investigation by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services found he allegedly spent the money of a 94-year-old woman over whom he had power of attorney.

Miller was charged with financial exploitation of the elderly and theft Monday and arrested at his home in Perryville. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Online court records did not show an attorney or court date as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Miller was appointed durable power of attorney by the woman in 2004, a probable-cause statement compiled by health and senior services investigator Gregory Martin showed.

Miller is accused of two felonies for allegedly writing checks from the woman's account totaling $80,600 to "cash" and to Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville, which Miller owns with his wife. The checks were written from August 2011 through June 2013, according to the statement.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Department of Health and Senior Services public information director Ryan Hobart said the department is unable to release information on whether Miller was related to the victim because of state confidentiality laws. The department, he wrote, also is unable to comment on this specific case because of confidentiality restrictions.

"Power of attorney documents of this nature are not required to be filed with any local state or federal agency and there is no way to track this information. POA documents are drawn up, usually with the assistance of legal counsel, and notarized. The POA is then shared with financial and/or medical institutions to allow the designated power of attorney to act on behalf of the individual," Hobart wrote.

Asked how the commission would deal with the matter going forward, Leuckel said the commissioners would have to meet and talk about it.

It was unclear what would happen to Miller's position as coroner should he be convicted of the felony charge against him. Requests for information from the Perry County prosecuting attorney, Department of Health and Senior Services and Secretary of State's office were not returned Wednesday.

It also was unclear whether Miller was related to the woman, although a law enforcement and nursing home official said they did not believe he was.

The woman resides at Independence Care Center in Perryville.

"Although failure to pay your bill is a legitimate reason to discharge a resident, we would never travel that road with this resident. She has been with us in some capacity since April 2005. We would not evict a resident for failure to pay a bill in a situation like this, where it was not her fault that she was in this predicament," administrator Bonnie Schnurbusch said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

Perryville, Mo.