A decades-old murder mystery in Saginaw

When closing statements began in the Gabriel Ferris murder trial, prosecutors felt they had proven that Ferris was a man capable of leaving his honeymoon bed on the shores of Lake Huron and driving 65 miles, for a rendezvous with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Miller; a meeting that ended in murder.

Jeff Stroud, assistant prosecutor: Over time, years, evidence keep pointing to Gabe Ferris. Not Tony Alverez. Not Abbass Esfehani. Gabe Ferris.

But the defense disagreed and insisted that the prosecution’s theory made no sense. That even though, admittedly, Ferris had been a scoundrel, sleeping with Cheryl Miller in the days before his wedding to another woman, there is no evidence that he killed her.

Soon the fate of Gabriel Ferris was in the hands of the jurors. Among them: a retired mechanical engineer, a pipefitter, and a marketing executive.

Hansen: What was that first vote?

Juror 1: Two undecided, four not guilty, and six guilty.

Some jurors wondered how so much of the physical evidence found at the crime scene, could point away from Ferris, and toward other suspects.

Hansen: I mean it seems like everybody else’s hair was there besides his.

Juror 2: That was a definite question I think in a lot of the jurors’ minds.

But to the jurors, the testimony of Ferris’s ex-wife, testimony that had changed repeatedly over the years, struck a chord.

Hansen: The defense has suggested that she had it out for Gabe Ferris.

Juror 3: She very well may have, but I don’t think that had anything to do with this case.

Hansen: How credible was Ferris’s ex-wife to you?

Juror 3: Very credible. She didn’t waiver.

And jurors also focused on incriminating statements witnesses said Ferris made, like the woman who testified he said “I didn’t mean to do it.”

Juror 4: Why would a person do that if they’re innocent? I just don’t..it didn’t add up to me.

For Cheryl Miller’s aunt, who sat through every day of the trial, the thought of Ferris being set free was too much to take. "I don’t believe I have ever been so anxious in my life. Like up and down, and pacing the halls."

But on just the second day of deliberations, jurors sent word to the judge.

The jury had come together. And as they awaited the verdict, it might be an understatement to say that Gabriel Ferris and his defense attorney were anticipating good news. According to Willman, Ferris was even talking about buying a sailboat.

Gabe Ferris was found guilty. He Ferris would remain behind bars.

"I think justice has been done in this case," says prosecuting attorney Michael Thomas.

"I think I let some kind of a yell out of me," says Duquette, Cheryl Miller's aunt. "And the tears began to come down my face. ‘Thank god,’ that’s what was going through my mind."

In June 2004,  almost 30 years to the day after Cheryl Miller’s body was found, Gabriel Ferris was sentenced to life in prison without parole— exactly what he deserves, Cheryl’s aunt says, for everything he put the family through.

"He killed Cheryl. He left Cheryl's parents in pain for the rest of their natural lives," says Duquette. "That's an unforgivable thing too."

Gabriel Ferris continues to maintain his innocence, and is appealing his conviction, arguing that despite the jury’s verdict, the evidence fails to establish that he’s guilty of any crime.

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