Prosecutors say videos show threats with a hammer before the man’s body was dumped off U.S. 321.
GASTONIA, N.C. — Nearly two years after 56-year-old Glen A. Miller was found dead along U.S. Highway 321 near Dallas, authorities have charged Shirley Michelle Dukes, 56, of Gastonia, with assault with a deadly weapon as prosecutors described phone videos that showed her controlling and abusing him in the weeks before his death.
Prosecutors outlined the case during a court appearance on Tuesday, Dec. 2, saying the investigation has shifted with new digital evidence. Miller, originally from Ohio, was found on Feb. 6, 2024, at the bottom of a rocky embankment near Ratchford Drive. Detectives upgraded the case to a homicide soon after, but a cause of death has not been made public. The new charge against Dukes does not allege murder; officials say the probe remains active while they analyze evidence and witness accounts and evaluate whether additional charges are warranted.
Authorities said a driver spotted Miller’s body along northbound U.S. 321 just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2024. The location sits just north of Dallas, where a culvert runs under the highway beside a horse pasture. Investigators said the body appeared to have been wrapped in tape and tossed down a rocky slope. In court, Assistant District Attorney Sean Baetjer said recovered phone videos show Miller in the same clothing later found on his body and bear a gash on his head that was still visible at the time of death. “She had essentially taken control of Mr. Miller’s life,” Baetjer said, describing clips where a woman stands over Miller with a hammer while he scrubs a bathroom floor.
Baetjer told the judge the videos were pulled from Dukes’ cellphone after she initially deleted some files. He said the recordings show Dukes ordering Miller to apologize for being “disgusting and ungrateful,” and prosecutors argued they reflect a pattern of humiliation and coercion. Investigators said Miller had been made to live in a tent behind Dukes’ apartment in Gastonia and that both had ties to Ohio. Phone records, according to prosecutors, show calls from Dukes on the night of the most damning videos, including to a person whose fingerprints were later found on tape recovered with the body. That man, identified in a separate court filing as 47-year-old Dwight Bryant McCormick of Charlotte, was indicted in April on a charge of concealment of death. Dukes told the court, “It’s not true,” and maintained that she cooperated with detectives.
Public records and earlier police statements identified the victim as Glen A. Miller, 56, a Black man from Ohio who had a pre-existing injury to his lower left leg. The body was found near Ratchford Drive, a stretch that carries an estimated tens of thousands of vehicles daily. Neighbors living along the corridor told reporters in February 2024 that the discovery was “shocking” and asked for answers as detectives canvassed the area. Officials have not released Miller’s cause of death, saying that portion of the investigation remains open. Investigators said they believe the abuse shown in the videos happened shortly before Miller died, but they did not provide a precise timeline.
Authorities arrested Dukes on Monday, Dec. 1, on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. During her first appearance, a judge ordered her held without bond while the case proceeds. Prosecutors said they do not yet have enough to bring a homicide charge but will continue to review the recovered videos, forensic findings and witness statements. McCormick’s concealment-of-death case remains pending in Gaston County court; he is accused of having his fingerprints on tape associated with Miller’s remains. Officials emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Detectives said more lab work and interviews are underway, including additional analysis of data from seized devices and follow-up with people who knew the pair in Ohio and North Carolina. Prosecutors said they expect to return to court with updates once they receive final reports from examiners. The district attorney’s office did not give a timeline for possible further charges. In the meantime, Gaston County Police remain the lead agency on the homicide investigation tied to Miller’s death along U.S. 321.
On Wednesday, the case’s focus rested on the recovered videos and the portrait of control they allegedly depict. Outside the courthouse, residents said they were relieved to see movement but want clarity about how Miller died. “We’ve all been waiting to hear what happened,” said a neighbor who lives near the highway corridor. The winter scene of flashing lights and crime scene tape that first day in February 2024 still lingers for people who pass the spot daily, where investigators first marked the rocks below the guardrail.
As of Saturday, Dec. 6, Dukes remains jailed in Gaston County on the assault charge, and investigators say the homicide inquiry tied to Miller’s death is ongoing. Prosecutors said the next update is expected at a future court date once forensic results are complete.
Author note: Last updated December 6, 2025.