Daytra and Robert
2018 mother and son murder still unsolved
AT 6:30 PM ON DECEMBER 23, 2018, the neighborhood two miles west of Independence, Louisiana, was quiet, the kind of quiet you only get on a Sunday evening two days before Christmas.
Porch lights on. Cars in the driveway.
Then the shots came.
Residents at the corner Labruzza Lane and Fontana Road called 911.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find 42-year-old Daytra Miller and her 13-year-old son, Robert West II, dead inside their home. The house was still quiet when deputies pushed through the door.
Daytra had lived at that address for at least fifteen years. That was where she built her home, raised her children, and spent her days. Her aunt, Gloria McGee, described her her as “hard-working, very respectful, full of life, and very loving.”
McGee said Robert was an honors student. “Just an angel, a joy to be around. So loving, respectful. A life cut short.”
Robert was the youngest of six children, the only boy among four sisters. One of those sisters, the youngest, was home during the shooting. She hid in a bathroom closet when she heard the shots. She remained there, shaking, when police arrived.
Robert played football and basketball at Tangi Academy. His teacher, Kristian Polk-Usey, said he spent time mentoring younger children. “He was everything you’d want your son to be,” she said. She also said he gave the best hugs.
Tangi Academy Principal Jackie Wilson remembers one ELA assignment Mrs. Garner gave the class.
Robert wrote about wanting to become a professional fisherman. His grandfather had taught him. He used to stop by Wilson’s office to check on her fish tank, and when her fish kept dying at the start of the school year, Robert West II offered advice on proper care. Two fish had been holding on since early September because of what that boy told her.
“He was a kind, gentle, helpful, and caring young man who always put others before himself.”
That was Principal Wilson. She meant every word.
Robert West, Sr. — the boy’s father — heard the news on the morning of Christmas Eve. He stood in the yard on Labruzza Lane and watched workers from the coroner’s office carry his son out of the house in a body bag.
He told reporters that Daytra had been his best friend. She had been packing Robert’s things that Sunday afternoon, getting him ready to spend a few days with his father for the holiday.
“My son was being raised by all of us,” West said. “He’s the youngest of six, including four girls.” The girls had been looking forward to having their brother home for Christmas.
West said that no matter what had passed between him and Daytra, he had wanted his children to hold together.
“We were just trying to preach to them how important it is for them to stay together. Even if Daytra and I weren’t getting along, or something happened to one of us. As long as they stayed together, they’d be okay.”
He was sobbing when he said it.
In the weeks that followed the murders, family members nailed plywood over the windows and doors of the wood-frame house, not ready to go back inside.
TPSO Chief Information Officer Dawn Panepinto confirmed that investigators worked the case around the clock for weeks after the December 23rd tragedy. Multiple tips came in from the public. She said verifying each one took time.
Then she shared that matters most. There was no sign of forced entry that night. Whoever killed Daytra Miller and her son did not break in. They walked through the door.
Panepinto said investigators believe the victims knew the person who came into that house that Sunday evening two days before Christmas. “For investigative purposes, we’re accepting any information anyone has about shots being fired in the area,” she told reporters that week.
West said detectives had told him they were waiting on the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab to finish analyzing the final pieces of evidence before they could go public with information on a possible person of interest. That analysis ultimately revealed nothing new.
McGee made clear one point. “These crimes were not a product of domestic violence,” she said. “We don’t know who did this, but on behalf of the Miller and West family, we need your prayers and support, and we need the community’s help to solve this crime.”
She asked anyone with information to call the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Independence Police Department directly.
Daniel Edwards, the sheriff in 2018, said, “We are hopeful that someone with relevant information will step up and help put those responsible for this horrific crime behind bars. One thing we do know is that there are people out there who have information about these murders. We want that information, or anything that will lead us in the direction of the shooters.”
His office and the Tangipahoa Parish Crime Stoppers still offer rewards for information in the case.
Daytra Miller was 42 years old. She had spent fifteen years on Labruzza Lane raising her family two miles west of Independence. Robert West II was 13. He wanted to fish for a living. He kept his principal’s fish alive with advice she still follows. His sisters were waiting for him to come home for Christmas.
Somebody opened the door for a person they recognized that Sunday evening, and neither victim lived to see Christmas morning.
The elder Robert West made one ask. “If anyone has any information about my son or about anything that has happened to him — even if you even remotely know someone involved or know something about this situation, please contact any authorities.”
His family is still waiting for that information.