He entered a plea on Thurs in Circuit Court.
Frederick, Md. (KM) – A Frederick man arrested two year ago for killing his mother was in court on Thursday. David Frederick Miner IV, 21, entered a plea before Circuit Court Judge Theresa Adams. “He entered guilty pleas to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of 2nd-degree assault in which police officers from the Frederick City Police Department were the victims,” says Deputy Frederick County State’s Attorney Kirsten Brown.
Miner was sentenced to ten years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter count, and was given 20 years suspended sentence for the 2nd-degree assault counts. He struggled with police officers as they were taking him into custody after his mother was killed. An officer used a taser on Miner to subdue him.
On Sunday, April 19th, 2020, Frederick Police responded to the 100 block of Deerfield Place in Frederick shortly before 7:00 PM for a stabbing. They found a woman identified as Samantha Annette Miller, 45, suffering form a stab wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMT, according to authorities.
In application of charges by Frederick Police, the defendant’s father, David Miner III, was outside if the house when he head his wife, Samantha Miner, yelling and ran inside. He found her sitting in a chair in a back room, in an out of consciousness. Also there was blood on the chair. He asked his son, David Miner IV, what happened. The son responded “I killed mom.”
During an interview with detectives, David Miner IV told them he had been tripping out on LSD at home since 2:00 PM that day. His mother went to check in on him, and he told he had an urgent desire to kill the family dog. David Miner IV went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from a butcher block. She tried to take it away from him, and that’s when she was stabbed.
David Miner IV had been charged with 1st-degree murder for his mother’s death. That means the killing was premeditated. But Brown says that charge was mitigated. “The defense had experts and they generated a voluntary intoxication defense,” she said. “Mr. Miner was under influence of LSD at the time that he committed the crime,” she said.
“We know that it was in his system at the time. There’s testimony from witnesses, including his sisters, who talk about how he was acting just prior to the stabbing,” Brown continues. “He gave a statement to the police said that said he was having hallucinations.”
As part of his sentence, Miner will be placed on five-years of supervised probation after he’s released from prison.
Brown called this case involving the killing of one family member by another as “heartbreaking.” “His father and his sisters spoke today. They were completely in support this disposition,” she said.
By Kevin McManus
