GOSHEN – Police released a suspect sketch Tuesday in a home invasion that left a Goshen College professor dead and his wife seriously injured.
The suspect is described as a white male in his early to mid-twenties and has a "clean cut" appearance. He is between 5’10 to 6 feet tall.
James Miller, 58, and his wife, Linda Miller, were attacked in their home on Wildwood Court only blocks away from the Goshen College campus just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
An autopsy shows he died from multiple blunt force and sharp force trauma. His wife survived the incident, but was seriously hurt.
Police worked with Linda Miller to compose the sketch.
Investigators continued to comb the scene Tuesday evening.
With a killer still on the loose, the community is taking security much more seriously.
"Campus security is always a very high priority," Goshen College President, Jim Brenneman said.
Brenneman says school security guards have become more vigilant and have picked up patrols around the campus. At the same time, he says, Goshen Police have also made more of a presence around the community.
"Until that person is in custody, we all need to be vigilant, even in our whole community," Brenneman added.
Many neighbors near the crime scene are taking steps of their own. By leaving lights on at night and locking their doors and windows. But some, like Lorene Miller, say they still feel like the neighborhood is still a safe place to live.
"To us this feels like a random violence, but we still feel safe living here," Miller said.
Nearly three days after the murder, police are still securing the scene and investigators are still looking it over. The crime happened only blocks from campus, but the scene is also close to the Goshen IU Health Center and the Greencroft Community.
"The tragic events are something that caused many people both in our residents and the surrounding neighborhood, I mean, it creates fears and worries," Jon Kauffmann-Kennel, Public Relations for Greencroft, said.
Kauffmann-Kennel also feels like the area is still a safe place to be, but says Greencroft is also taking steps to beef-up security.
"We have increased our security here over-night to help insure the safety of our residents as well as their peace of mind," Kauffmann-Kennel said.
