A grand jury in Galveston County has indicted James Dolphs Elmore Jr. on charges of manslaughter and felony tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Laura Miller. He also faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence related to the death of Audrey Cook. These cases are associated with the infamous Texas Killing Fields incidents.
Elmore, 61, of Bacliff, was taken into custody and booked into the Galveston County Jail on Tuesday. His bond was denied that night.
Prosecutors allege Elmore helped longtime suspect Clyde Edwin Hedrick conceal the remains of Miller and Cook after their deaths.
Hedrick, 72, had been the prime suspect in several of the killings for decades but died earlier this month while on parole, before he could face a grand jury.
Elmore lived just miles from League City, near the Calder Road and Ervin Street area, where the bodies of four women — including Miller and Cook — were found between 1984 and 1991. He and Hedrick were friends. Elmore was 19 or 20 years old when Miller disappeared in 1984.
The charges come after a renewed push by the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office and a multi-agency task force that began reexamining evidence and reinterviewing witnesses in 2024. District Attorney Kenneth Cusick, who Gov. Greg Abbott appointed, assigned Violence Against Women Chief Assistant District Attorney Kate Willis to lead the effort.
In a statement, the district attorney’s office said the indictments follow “a renewed effort by the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement agencies to bring to justice the murderers responsible for the deaths of approximately 30 women whose bodies were found in an area commonly referred to as the ‘Texas Killing Fields.’”
Elmore had a lengthy criminal history spanning more than 40 years, including multiple drug arrests for marijuana possession and delivery of methamphetamine, as well as charges of attempted murder in 1993, forgery in 1996, assault of a family member in 2016, and burglary in 2017.
Laura Miller was the daughter of Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch. He said Elmore reached out to him four years ago to discuss the case.
“Over these last four years, I met with him probably 30 times. Every time he would come out with more details, more details,” Tim Miller said, Click 2 Houston reported. “I know exactly what happened to Laura. I know his involvement. One of the hardest things I ever did in my life was keep my composure with this guy.”
The district attorney’s office commended the League City Police Department, Hitchcock Police Department, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, Texas City Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dickinson Police Department, Galveston Police Department, and Santa Fe Police Department for their assistance.