DA's Office: Miller Used Voodoo Doll in Attempt to Kill Teen

MINEOLA, NY -- The Nassau County District Attorney's Office revealed a new twist in the Daniel Miller arraignment Thursday afternoon.

Detective Lt. John May of the DA's office said at a press conference in Mineola that Miller, who was after allegedly trying to find a hitman to kill the teen he was charged of sexually abusing back in April, used a Voodoo doll in an attempt to kill the same teen.

Miller is a practitioner of Santeria, May added.

"[It's] attached to the religion of Santeria," May said. "He believed by casting a spell on the Voodoo doll, it would have physical effects on his sex crime victim."

According to the BBC, "Santeria (Way of the Saints) is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions, with some Roman Catholic elements added. The religion is also known as La Regla Lucumi and the Rule of Osha. ... Santeria is a syncretic religion that grew out of the slave trade in Cuba."

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Miller, the owner of a Santeria religious supplies store in Inwood, is currently incarcerated in the Nassau County Correctional Center after being arrested on April 19 and charged with criminal sexual act in the first degree and other charges for a 17-year-old male employee.

May said that in June, a source came forward to the DA's office and revealed Miller's plot to have the 17-year-old victim killed in order to keep the victim from testifying.

It was the same source who told the DA's office about the Voodoo doll. During one of the meetings the source had with Miller in reference to the alleged "murder-for-hire," Miller made comments about the Voodoo doll, May said.

"Mr. Miller believed by practicing Santeria and certain spells that were cast, that they would have physical effects on the victim," May said. "He believed that he could induce cancer on the victim and hopefully dispel of the victim that way."