Victim Robert Hecht. Credit: CCSO
Detectives in the Charlotte County (Florida) Cold Case Unit have closed a homicide case dating back to 1988, learning the offender had died in 2006.
Sometime during the evening of Nov. 26 or early morning of Nov. 27, 1988, 58-year-old Robert Hecht was murdered in his home on Rio Togas Road in Southwest Charlotte County. Hecht was found in his home after concerned friends called the Sheriff’s Office, requesting a wellbeing check.
The crime scene investigation revealed Hecht had been struck in the head several times with a heavy glass ashtray while in a prone position on the living room couch. Hecht’s new vehicle, a Lincoln he had purchased approximately one month prior, was also missing from the garage and presumed stolen.
The initial investigation determined Hecht was seen out and about Saturday evening with a white male he introduced as Ray. People familiar with Hecht had never seen Ray before and recalled him having a southern accent. Ray also told people he was from Tennessee and Kentucky, separated from his wife, and at the time had a 14-year-old daughter. The two were last seen at the Fisherman’s Village Oyster Bar in Punta Gorda and Robert told a friend they were heading to another bar and then home. Investigators were not able to ascertain the identity of Ray at the time.
On Nov. 28, 1988, Hecht’s Lincoln was observed parked on Main Street in Lenoir, North Carolina. Subsequent crime scene investigations were completed at Hecht’s home and on the recovered stolen Lincoln. Among items recovered were two cigarette butts, one from the floor of the home near the victim and one from the vehicle. The initial investigation determined Hecht would allow people to smoke in his house but not his car. The cigarette from the house was believed to have fallen from the ashtray during the attack. The cigarette from the car was believed to be from the person who killed Hecht and stole his car. Due to his no smoking rule, the car would not have contained a cigarette butt prior to the murder.
In September 2021, Charlotte County Cold Case Detectives started a review of this murder and interviewed everyone still available. Evidence was reexamined, and due to advances in DNA technology and genealogical DNA examinations, the cigarette butts from the car and home were submitted for DNA analysis.
It was determined DNA from the same person was present on both cigarettes. Since there was no match in CODIS, the detectives submitted the results for genealogical examination. A match to a family member from Tennessee was discovered. Through the process of elimination, interviews, and direct comparisons to family members (including the biological daughter who was 14 years old at the time of the murder), the source of the cigarette butts’ DNA was identified as Kenneth Ray Miller.
After obtaining and showing photographs of Miller, witnesses who met “Ray” told detectives Miller appeared to be the man they saw with Hecht on the evening of Nov. 26, 1988. One of these witnesses also saw “Ray” in Hecht’s home that morning. He was sitting on the end of a couch in the living room with a blanket over his legs— it appeared to the witness that “Ray” slept there. This was the same couch where Hecht’s body was found.
Miller died in 2006 at the age of 55 of natural causes. A criminal history check revealed Miller had an extensive violent crime history, including aggravated battery, burglary, arson and other crimes. Witnesses in Lenoir were interviewed, and one witness observed a male driving the stolen car. The male driver matched the description of Miller.
On March 22, 2024, this case was officially closed by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit, by death of offender.
“The detectives in the Cold Case Unit never cease to amaze me. Their determination to solve these cases and bring peace and closure to the loved ones of victims is unrivaled. The technological advancements in the field today are critical to breaking these cases, but it still takes good old-fashioned detective work and a passion to connect those pieces,” said Sheriff Bill Prummell.