Cold case suspect back in Onslow County

After a 16-hour car ride from Illinois and an overnight stay in the Onslow County Jail, Rodger Gill had his first appearance in front of a district court judge Friday morning.

Gill, 56, of Athens, Ill., has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 1972 shooting death of Camp Lejeune Marine Sgt. William Miller.

Onslow County District Court Judge Carol Jones told Gill he would remain in jail under no bond until his arraignment in Superior Court on April 13.

Gill hobbled into the courtroom Friday morning and leaned against a table during most of the hearing. His sister told The Daily News she is concerned for him because he was arrested the same day in January that he was released from an Illinois hospital after knee surgery.

He fought extradition and lost in Vermilion County, Ill., Circuit Court earlier this week and was picked up by Onslow County Sheriff's Capts. Jon Lewis and Rick Sutherland.

An Onslow County grand jury indicted Gill on murder charges in January. He is the third former Marine charged in Miller's death.

Former Cape Carteret police chief George Hayden and Bend, Ore., resident Vickie Babbitt were charged in September by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Miller's death. Miller and Babbitt were married at the time. Authorities say Babbitt lured Miller to the ambush on Western Boulevard more than three decades ago. She later married and divorced Hayden.

Gill was engaged to the Millers' babysitter, Bonnie Sharpe, at the time. Sharpe told sheriff's detectives that Gill witnessed Miller's shooting. She said she came forward after 36 years of silence when she read an article in the Aug. 10, 2008, edition of The Daily News about the unsolved homicide.

"I have gotten a dear friend in serious trouble," Sharpe said when speaking about Gill to The Daily News in November 2008. "I feel like I have opened a can of worms."

Sheriff's detectives and Naval Criminal Investigate Service agents traveled to Illinois to interview Gill last year. He admitted "he was at the crime scene when Vickie Miller flagged William Miller down on Western Boulevard and when George Hayden ambushed and shot William Miller with a rifle," according to an affidavit attached to a search warrant.

Authorities first considered Gill a witness, but prosecutors decided to charge him with Miller's death after reviewing applicable laws, said Dewey Hudson, the district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Hayden and Babbitt have both been released on bail. Prosecutors expect to present their cases to a grand jury in early April.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.