'Viciously murdered': Ex-boyfriend arrested in kidnapping, killing of Detroit nurse

An ex-boyfriend of a Detroit nurse who was kidnapped and killed over the weekend is in police custody in connection with the slaying, Detroit Police Chief James White announced Monday.

Jamere Miller, 36, negotiated his surrender and turned himself over to authorities Sunday afternoon, police said.

Miller and the victim, Patrice Wilson, 29, had recently broken up, White said during a Monday afternoon news conference.

Miller is accused of kidnapping Wilson as she left her job at the Detroit Medical Center on Saturday morning. White said Miller was wearing a wig, described as blond or red, to disguise himself.

Miller had abducted Wilson in the DMC parking area, entering her vehicle and forcing her to leave, police said.

Wilson was later found dead in her vehicle, White said.

It's a case White described as tragic, horrific and complex — and just the latest example of how pervasive domestic violence is in our communities, White said.

"She was young and she had her whole life ahead of her," White said. "She was viciously murdered."

As of Monday, there have been 12 homicides in Detroit related to domestic violence in 2023, White said. He also pointed to other recent incidents of domestic violence in metro Detroit, including a murder-suicide that took the life of Calandra Green, Oakland County's top health officer.

White said Miller's "violent" criminal history includes instances of domestic violence. According to court records, Miller's criminal history also includes numerous firearm- and drug-related charges and assaulting a police officer.

White said Monday he has been made aware that Miller had a past relationship with Bianca Green, a Romulus woman who went missing in 2011. White said he is cooperating with law enforcement agencies tasked with finding Green.

White said Wilson was described as "cherished." She was a mother and a daughter, he said, who was "dedicated to helping and serving others as a nurse, and putting others before herself."

"For her to have her life taken away from her just before Mother's Day is absolutely heartbreaking," White said.

In a statement from the DMC, the hospital system described Wilson as a leader and a loving friend.

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Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-boyfriend apprehended in kidnapping, killing of Detroit nurse