Charges of assault with a firearm and animal cruelty have been added to the allegations against Eureka resident Jason Michael Miller, accused of murdering Kiera Lynn Foley in April 2021.

Miller, 41, was held to answer for murder after a preliminary hearing earlier this month. Today Judge Kaleb Cockrum arraigned him on that charge, along with fresh accusations of assault with a firearm on Crystal Gonzales and animal cruelty for drowning Bubbles, Foley’s pet dog.

It’s also alleged Miller has convictions in Shasta County for child abuse and false imprisonment.

Gonzales, a friend of Miller’s, testified during the preliminary hearing that Miller put a gun to her head and ordered her to to walk into the bathroom of the room he rented at Laguna Inn. Gonzales said she first smelled and then saw Foley’s body in the bathtub with her dog on top of it.

As Gonzales watched, she testified, Miller drowned the tiny dog in the toilet.

Miller allegedly told Gonzales and his girlfriend Rose Cooper that he killed Foley because he believed she was planning to rob him. He also told a neighbor he killed Foley and offered to show her the corpse.

No blood or other incriminating evidence was found in Miller’s motel room. Her body has never been found.

Miller’s jury trial is scheduled for May 15. Today Deputy District Attorney Jessica Watson was in court for the prosecution. Defense attorney Andrea Sullivan appeared via Zoom from her office in Lake County.

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In other court news, this morning the trial of torture and murder suspect Daniella Patricia Moore was scheduled for Sept. 6.

Moore is charged with the July 2019 murder of Eureka resident Hannah Hayhurst, whose mutilated body was found in a parking lot in Eureka on July 4. Moore, now 42, was arrested the same day and remains in custody.

It is believed Hayhurst, 19, was killed with a pair of shears. Some of her vital organs were found next to her body.

Moore has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial, including jury selection, is expected to last two months.

Deputy District Attorney Stacy Eads is the prosecutor, with Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo representing Moore.

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