William Miller
A man arrested for the murder of a Melbourne woman nearly 16 years after it occurred has pleaded guilty to the crime. Through an agreement with the 16th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, 45-year-old William Miller waived his right to a jury trial Tuesday morning and entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder in the 2004 death of Rebekah Gould. He was sentenced in Izard County Circuit Court to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction by Judge Tim Weaver.
Gould was last seen alive the morning of Sept. 20, 2004, in Melbourne. She had just dropped a friend off at work before stopping at a local convenience store. According to reports, the 22-year-old had gone that weekend to visit friends in Guion, a small town south of Melbourne on the White River, and later failed to return to her junior college in Fayetteville.
When investigators searched the residence where Gould was staying, they found a large amount of blood in various parts of it, which led them to believe she had been taken by force. Her car, car keys, purse and money were all found at the house.
Gould’s disappearance sparked a community-based search across Melbourne and much of Izard County.
Her body was found a week later off a 35-foot embankment off Arkansas Highway 9, nearly five miles from Melbourne. The cause of death was believed to be one or more blows to the head.
Miller was arrested in November 2020 by an Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division special agent in Lane County, Oregon, after authorities learned he had returned to the state following an extended stay in the Philippines. Following his arrest, Miller reportedly confessed to Gould’s murder. His attorney tried unsuccessfully to have the confession suppressed.
Jonesboro television station KAIT reports during Tuesday’s court session, Dr. Larry Gould, Rebekah’s father and a Mountain Home dentist, told Miller, “Eighteen years ago, my life changed forever. You took her from her own future. You took away a chance for a girl to dream. A hell you created. A hell you must face.”
Miller apologized to Gould’s family and stated he needs to go to prison. He also stated if he could go back in time to change what happened, he would.
Judge Weaver said he hoped Miller would do every day of his sentence, adding if Miller ever became eligible for parole he would “write an extensive letter opposing it.”
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