Man Freed From Prison After 21 Years as Star Witness in Murder Case Admits He Did It
The star witness in the Philadelphia case has reportedly been openly admitting to the murder for over a decade.

Reuters / Stephen Lam
A man who has spent nearly half his life in prison walked free Wednesday after the star witness in his murder case admitted that he himself did it. John Miller, 44, has been behind bars for 21 years. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 for the October 1996 murder of Anthony Mullen during a robbery attempt outside the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. David Williams identified Miller as the killer, but recanted his statement even before Miller’s preliminary hearing, and “has been confessing to Mullen’s murder for more than a decade,” the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office wrote in a motion filed Monday that declined to retry Miller. The office has not said whether it will now charge Williams in the Mullen murder. “I’m very happy and excited that after 21 years I’m finally being heard and that my innocence has reached the surface,” said Miller. “I’m going home to my family. I’m overwhelmed, excited, and happy.”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.