SHERMAN OAKS : Woman Accused of Attacking Husband

A Sherman Oaks woman who went to prison for killing her first husband has been charged with injuring her current husband with scissors, authorities said Tuesday.

In a criminal complaint filed Friday, prosecutors charged Beverly Miller with one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse.

Because she has a prior violent-felony conviction, the new charge would count as a “second strike” against Miller and would double any prison term she receives if convicted of the charge. With the second-strike provision, Miller faces a maximum prison term of eight years.

Miller, 56, was arrested Thursday after her husband, 58-year-old Gary Miller, wrote a letter seeking assistance from authorities because he was being abused by his wife, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen.

Gary Miller alleged that his wife attacked him Thursday, using a pair of scissors to inflict a 2-inch wound on his forehead. He also said his wife bit him under his right eye, authorities said.

Beverly Miller was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 1980 in the shooting death of her first husband, court records show. Miller was sentenced to eight years in state prison.

After being booked into jail last week in lieu of $50,000 bail, Miller was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court. But the hearing was delayed until June 22 because Miller was mistakenly released on her own recognizance, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Mitchell J. Harris.

Because of action taken last week by Judge Leland B. Harris, Miller will again be taken into custody unless she can post $50,000 bail, prosecutors said.