One year later, Apex man's senseless murder remains unsolved

Police are still searching for the man who killed Randall "Randy" Miller, a 65-year-old from Apex, one year after his death.

The fatal stabbing occurred on August 29, 2022, in Atlantic Beach, where Miller was on vacation preparing for a fishing trip in the early morning hours. It was the third murder to ever occur in the town.

"He was a great guy, the love of my life," the victim's wife, Sue Miller, said. "We started dating when I was 16."

Sue said learning to live alone the last 12 months after 43 years of marriage to her high school sweetheart has been painful.

"He cooked for me; he did everything," she said. "I didn't even know how to pump gas."

Neighbors and friends gathered at the Millers' home to commemorate the tragic anniversary, including Rick Cypher, who had been close friends with Randy since they were 7 years old.

"I was supposed to be on that fishing trip," he said of last year's tragedy. "Not a day goes by that some memory doesn’t come up, and you don’t think of Randy. He’s always in my thoughts."

They gathered over the kitchen island, thumbing through pictures from high school proms, vacations, and of Randy's many impressive catches on fishing trips. Still, the reminiscing is clouded by the uneasiness of a case unsolved.

"I think it will be a small piece of closure for everyone to put this horrible person and the people he was with off the streets so they will not do this to another family," Sue Miller said.

Investigators say there have been few leads in the year since Randy's murder.

"Cold cases can be solved too and it's solved by people calling in with anything they think could help," said Atlantic Beach Police Chief Jeff Harvey in a press conference. "Any piece of information is important."

"I believe it’s a solvable case if they get the right evidence," Cypher said.