Visitors to trails around Torrey will encounter a photo memorial and an appeal for privacy at the Cockscomb Trailhead, shifting the immediate atmosphere for hikers and locals. Friday at 9: 00 a. m. ET, families said they will post pictures at the trailhead after the killings of Linda Dewey and Natalie Graves, both found dead near the trail.
Cockscomb Trailhead Will Host Family Memorials and Community Remembrance
The families of Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, 34, said they will post pictures of the women at the Cockscomb Trailhead on Friday as a memorial; they also asked for privacy while they grieve. The families described the site as “one of their favorite places on Earth” and said the location was cherished by the community. Husbands of Dewey and Graves discovered the bodies near a trailhead and called authorities, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.
Capitol Reef National Park Area Communities Face a New, Visible Reminder
For residents and visitors in the broader Capitol Reef National Park area, the planned memorial will serve as a public marker of the deaths and has already become part of local mourning. The family statement called Dewey “the heart of our family, ” noting she was a wife, mother and grandmother with an extensive extended family; Graves was described as “joy, sunshine and beauty embodied” and remembered as a wife, daughter and sister. The families said they are at a loss for words and requested time with relatives and friends.
Ivan Miller Charged as Documents Allege Motive and Sequence of Killings
Ivan W. Miller, 22, of Blakesburg, Iowa, is charged with aggravated murder in the slayings of Dewey and Graves and in the death of 86-year-old Margaret Oldroyd, whose body was found separately in her Lyman home. Charging documents filed Thursday allege Miller confessed, saying he “did it because he needed money” after hitting an elk in Loa, selling his truck to a tow company and staying in a hotel for several days. The documents allege he shot Oldroyd as she sat watching television, took her Buick, then later encountered Dewey and Graves at the trailhead and shot them; the documents also allege he stabbed Dewey when she continued to move.
Investigators say Miller abandoned the Buick and took a Subaru belonging to Dewey or Graves before the women were discovered. He was arrested in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, after authorities tracked the location of a stolen key fob, and he is being held in a Colorado jail awaiting extradition back to Utah to face three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony.
Scott Van Zandt, a public defender representing Miller, said during a court hearing that his client does not want to speak to police or media. Oldroyd’s relatives could not be reached for comment about her killing as of Friday.
If extradition proceeds, Miller will be returned to Utah custody and formally processed on three counts of aggravated murder within days. No extradition date had been confirmed as of 9: 00 a. m. ET. For now, families in Wayne County are planning the trailhead memorial and have asked the public for space while they mourn.
