February trial set for Elwood woman charged with attempted murder

LEXINGTON, Neb. (KSNB) - An Elwood woman accused of trying to hire someone to kill five people is scheduled for trial in February.

According to officials, 40-year-old Valerie Miller is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Court records show that Miller allegedly made plans to meet up with an undercover investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol. The two had been in contact on a social media app, court documents said, as Miller was looking for someone to buy her a gun, but was unaware the individual was an undercover trooper.

Those documents show the pair had planned and then met in the parking lot of the Walmart in Lexington. During that conversation, agents said Miller asked if the undercover agent could purchase a gun for her, specifically a revolver.

During that same conversation, court documents said Miller stated she wanted several individuals “not living.” When asked who that was, Miller stated that it was her ex-husband’s girlfriend, the girlfriend’s three young children, as well as the girlfriend’s adult son.

At a hearing in Dawson County District Court Monday, Miller pleaded not guilty to both of the attempted murder charges. A judge set her trial for Feb. 7. Earlier this month her attorney requested and the judge granted a psychological evaluation of Miller to determine her fitness to stand trial and her state of mind at the time the crimes were committed.

If convicted on both counts of attempted murder, Miller could get up to 100 years in prison.