September 8, 2022 at 11:05 a.m.
'All you had to do is raise your hand': Wakefield sentenced to 5 1/2 years in Miller homicide case
'All you had to do is raise your hand': Wakefield sentenced to 5 1/2 years in Miller homicide case
The sentence, which includes credit for 431 days already served, was handed down after Wakefield entered a no contest plea to one count of second-degree reckless homicide (as party to the crime) for his role in Miller's death. He was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide (as party to the crime). The charge was amended Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.
Anderson, 31, is serving a life sentence for what was described as an execution-style killing of his former girlfriend, the mother of his child.
Miller's body was discovered in a ditch on River Bend Road at about 11 a.m. June 30, 2021. She had been shot four times. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy later reported a wound to the chest, two to the back and one at the base of the skull, along with a graze wound to the arm.
According to court records, Anderson stayed overnight at Wakefield's apartment the night before he took Miller's life and when he left that morning, firearm in hand, Wakefield knew what he was planning to do.
There was no clear answer Tuesday to the question of why Wakefield didn't tell anyone that Anderson was planning to commit murder.
In his statement to the court, Hannah's father said he can't comprehend Wakefield's failure to take action.
"It blows my mind that you just kept going and going with it (assisting Anderson) with absolutely no concern, alarm, sympathy, empathy, or common sense that this is crazy and this situation needs to end," he said. "June 30 of last year was your last and final chance to do the right thing, anything. You were with him, he told you what he was going to do, he showed you the gun and he walked out (of the apartment) without you giving one (expletive). You killed her in cold blood that day. Her blood is on your hands as well and will be on your hands forever."
"All you had to do is raise your hand and say this is messed up," he added, noting that the loss of Hannah will reverberate through generations of his family as his 3-year-old granddaughter grows up and is forced to explain the absence of her parents.
"Hannah's daughter will know this story and know you did not help Hannah," he said. "She will ask why and we will tell her we have no idea."
Finally, he noted that the plea Wakefield entered was "no contest" rather than guilty, a move he considered to be evidence that Wakefield hasn't taken full responsibility for his actions. He also expressed concern about Wakefield eventually re-entering society.
"I fear, as do others, how someone with your judgment can be in society and ever be trusted again," he said.
Public defender Elizabeth Svehlek argued a number of serious mental health-related diagnoses and intellectual disabilities left Wakefield without the ability to take action to stop Anderson. She noted that Wakefield's participation in the crime consisted of renting a vehicle, conducting surveillance in the vehicle and on foot, and "providing housing and an ear to Christopher Anderson" and stressed that none of the information he provided to Anderson actually furthered Anderson's plot.
It's unclear, she said, whether Wakefield had "the skills and wherewithal to become a hero and prevent Christopher Anderson from doing that awful act."
She described Wakefield as "gullible" and stated Anderson manipulated and led him on with "promises of stardom and music contracts and money and bright, shiny clothes and things."
Finally, she noted that Wakefield was planning to testify against Anderson, had that case gone to trial, and stated he has expressed remorse in conversations with his attorneys.
"He is sorry that he betrayed the trust of our community and of the Miller family especially," she said.
In his statement to the court, Oneida County district attorney Mike Schiek explained his decision to resolve Wakefield's case with a plea agreement.
"The state's prosecution of these cases has always been directed at Christopher Anderson," he said. "He was the one who was the most responsible, he was the one that pulled the trigger, he was the one who did all the planning. We all felt that co-defendant Anderson took advantage of Mr. Wakefield because of his mental health condition. He used him in efforts to conduct surveillance. For those reasons, we felt there was a difference between Anderson and Wakefield."
Following Bloom's early August ruling regarding the use of Wakefield's statements during Anderson's trial, a decision was made to reach out to Wakefield's attorneys regarding a potential resolution, he added.
"In the end, through my eyes, Anderson was the most culpable and he was the one we wanted to convict more than anything," Schiek said, noting that Anderson ultimately avoided trial by taking the final offer presented to him after learning that Wakefield was prepared to testify.
"I don't think without another person pushing him and taking advantage of him that (Wakefield) would be capable of doing this independently and for me, at the end of the day, that's what it came down to," he added.
Given his chance to speak, Wakefield offered an apology.
"I'm sorry for the family. I wish I could have done differently," he said. "I really didn't know what to do at the time, in the situation there was a gun in my place... I'm sorry for my actions and I've learned from my mistakes."
Bloom agreed with the attorneys that Wakefield's level of culpability is notably different from Anderson's and stated that he was required to fashion a sentence that reflects that distinction as well as Wakefield's personal history, health conditions and other factors.
"We have a person who allowed themselves to become involved in a horribly brutal crime, a person who while not apparently malicious has either a weakness or an absence of ability to do the right thing and I can't disagree with Mr. Miller's statement that Mr. Wakefield has Hannah Miller's blood on his hands," the court said before handing down a sentence that will keep Wakefield under state supervision for the next 12 years.
Outside the courtroom following the hearing, Hannah's father told the River News the family is relieved that both cases have been resolved and they can now start to move on with complete focus on their granddaughter.
"She's our light," he said.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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