A Jefferson County man has been accused of keeping a woman in a camper that was parked in a wooded area in Eureka, and he allegedly attacked the woman for several minutes during an argument, according to court documents.
Michael James Miller Jr., 54, who lives in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton, on Dec. 2 was charged with second-degree attempted kidnapping and four counts of third-degree assault. All of the charges are class E felonies and punishable by up to four years in prison, court records said.
As of Tuesday, he was being held on a $75,000 bond at the St. Louis County Jail, court documents show.
A 54-year-old woman who was living with Miller in a camper that was covered by tarps in a wooded area in the 18000 block of South Fox Creek Lane contacted a friend on Dec. 1. She told the friend that Miller would not allow her to leave the camper and had attacked her, the Eureka Police reported.
The friend contacted the police, who located the camper by using a drone that detected two heat signatures. Miller and the woman were inside the camper, police reported.
The woman told officers she had put her shoes on while in bed on Nov. 30, and Miller became angry with her and told her to take her shoes off. The woman said she threw one of the shoes, which hit a television and broke it, the report said.
Miller allegedly threw a butane torch at the woman, which hit her head and caused a cut. The woman said she tried to leave, but Miller would not allow her to, according to the police.
The case’s probable-cause statement said Miller then punched her and hit her with his knee for approximately 10 minutes.
Miller allegedly told police he did throw the torch at her on Nov. 30, but he said it was an accident and shouldn’t have thrown the torch. He also said she did say she wanted to leave, and he said he didn’t want her to leave and thought they had made up, Eureka Police reported.
Miller has previously been convicted of charges of second-degree burglary and stealing a firearm in Missouri. He also appeared to have been found guilty of charges in Florida and Oklahoma, according to the probable-cause statement filed in the case.