Jeannie Mills

Jeannie Mills (July 2, 1939 – February 27, 1980), formerly Deanna Mertle, née Gustafson,[1][2] was an early defector from the Peoples Temple movement headed by Jim Jones. With her husband and Timothy Stoen, she co-founded the Concerned Relatives of Peoples Temple Members organization[3] in 1977.

Jeannie, her husband Al, and her children joined the Peoples Temple in 1969. As Deanna and Elmer Mertle, Jeannie served as head of the Temple's publications office while her husband Al was the official photographer.[4] They left the group with their five children in 1974 after Jones beat their daughter Linda 70 times with a paddle for a minor infraction. The family changed their surname to Mills to void the power of attorney they had earlier given Jones.[5]

After her defection, Mills published a memoir, Six Years with God: Life inside Rev. Jim Jones's Peoples Temple, and established the Berkeley Human Freedom Center with her husband. She later co-founded the Concerned Relatives of Peoples Temple Members, a support group for Jonestown defectors and their families. The Concerned Relatives eventually persuaded United States Congressman Leo Ryan to undertake a fact-finding mission to Guyana that led to Ryan's death, and to the Jonestown mass-murder. After these events in Guyana, the Mills family initially holed up with other defectors in the protective custody of a police SWAT team, but eventually decided to resume normal life.

Murder

Mills, along with her husband Al and their 15-year-old daughter Daphene, were murdered execution-style in their Berkeley home on February 26, 1980,[6][7] just over a year after the Jonestown massacre.[2][8] Their 17-year-old son Eddie was home at the time, but was left unharmed.[9] There was no forced entry, and burglary was quickly ruled out as a motive.[5] Eddie claimed he was unaware that the killings had taken place, even though police found gunshot residue on his hands.[10]

The Mills murders raised the fear that Temple "hit squads" (ex-members who would "avenge" the Jonestown deaths) were involved. However, the theory was never substantiated. With no leads, the investigation was eventually shelved and the case went cold. In 2005, police re-interviewed several surviving members of the Mills family. On December 3, 2005, 43-year-old Eddie Mills was arrested at the San Francisco airport after returning to the U.S. for the first time in several years. However, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to file charges, citing a lack of evidence.[11] Eddie Mills returned to Japan, where he lives with his wife and two children.[9] The Mills murders remain unsolved.

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See also
  • List of unsolved murders

References
  1. Find a Grave, Deanna "Jeannie Mills" Gustafson Mertle
  2. Loren L Coleman, The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines. Simon and Schuster, 2004, p. 71. Author identifies the couple as Elmer and Deanna Mertle.
  3. Neva Sly Hargrave, “A Story of Deprogramming”
  4. Eric W. Hickey, Encyclopedia of murder and violent crime. SAGE, 2003, p. 109.
  5. The Mills Family Murders: Could It Be Jim Jones' Last Revenge?, People Magazine, Clare Crawford-Mason and Nancy Faber, March 17, 1980
  6. "Hit Squad? Temple Defectors Slain". The Press Democrat. 1980-02-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  7. "Hit Squad? Temple Defectors Slain". The Press Democrat. 1980-02-27. p. 12. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  8. Locke, Michelle (2005-12-09). "No charges filed against son in 1980 murders". culteducation.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  9. "Who murdered Al and Jeannie Mills?". Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2019-06-10 – via San Diego State University.
  10. Ex-Berkeley man held in family slayings, SFgate.com, Henry K. Lee, December 7, 2005
  11. Retired officer works old cases - to no avail, San Francisco Chronicle, Henry K. Lee, December 10, 2005
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