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The Case of Carl Miller
📻 Episode #433
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Mar 07, 2024
About This Episode
On October 25, 1979, Rabbi David Okunov was robbed and fatally shot while on his way to temple in Brooklyn, New York. Two eyewitnesses described the perpetrator to authorities, and the police's first primary suspect fingered 19-year-old Carl Miller as the gunman. Despite not matching either eyewitness's descriptions, not being picked out of the line-up,…
Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.
The Case
On October 25, 1979, Rabbi David Okunov was robbed and fatally shot while on his way to temple in Brooklyn, New York. Two eyewitnesses described the perpetrator to authorities, and the police's first primary suspect fingered 19-year-old Carl Miller as the gunman. Despite not matching either eyewitness's descriptions, not being picked out of the line-up, and no physical evidence tying him to the crime, Carl was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder.
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In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:34“Speaker 3: get yourself a gun, don't rely on the cops. People Speaker 3: lived in an era where the cops were hurting you Speaker 3: onto the trains to auschwitzenbergen Belsen and Triblinka and whatnot. Speaker 3: It's that Merkan slogan, never again, We're not going to Speaker 3: be vulnerable. Imagine any other group in New York City”
00:18:18“Speaker 1: a guy named Willie Easterling who had been seen trying Speaker 1: to sell religious artifacts in the area. Police reports did Speaker 1: not demonstrate any follow up and were not shared with Speaker 1: the defense either, and this conduct was only compounded by Speaker 1: presenting the ever changing testimony of Daryl Brown, this time”
00:31:54“Speaker 3: of in a very rough fashion in an abandoned building. Speaker 3: And Robert was brought to trial in Brooklyn for the Speaker 3: murder and somehow acquitted. Obviously, the file is sealed following Speaker 3: the acquittal, but it sounds like the only reason for Speaker 3: the acquittal was that Robert pointed the finger to friends”
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← #432 Eron Shelman #434 Kim Hoover →
Also on the podcast: #29 Jerry Miller · #290 Carl Williams · #448 Chris Miller