Debra Novacluse's murder: 4 key details to know

ID's See No Evil will be delving into Debra Novacluse's Kamloops motel murder case in an all-new episode this Wednesday, July 12, 2023. The episode, titled The Man in the Cowboy Hat, airs on the channel at 9:00 pm ET.

Here's a look at the official synopsis:

"In 2016, in Kamloops, Canada, a motel cleaner finds the body of an unidentified woman in one of the rooms; detectives turn to surveillance cameras to track a mysterious suspect in a cowboy hat, leading to a desperate manhunt across Canada."

Debra Novacluse was found beaten and suffocated to death in a Super 8 Motel room. Her body was found beneath the mattress by the motel staff. Using witness statements and a Live streamed Facebook recording was used to find the culprit, David Miller, who was arrested in Ontario days later.

Throughout the course of the investigation, David offered authorities varying versions of the events that caused Debra's death, including self-defense and rough s*x. He was eventually found guilty of second-degree murder and given a 15-year prison sentence.

This article will further delve into a few key details from the murder case.

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Debra Novacluse's murder: A shocking discovery, key witnesses stories a guilty man, among other details

1) Debra Novacluse's body was found by the motel staff

According to reports, 52-year-old Debra frequently visited Super 8 Motel on Hugh Allan Drive in Aberdeen in Kamloops, Canada, with a man named David Miller. They were both visiting Kamloops from Abbotsford in the summer of 2016. Her body was found by the motel staff on August 27 beneath the mattress in a first-floor suite.

An autopsy showed that Debra had several bruises on her body and wounds on her genital part, likely caused by forceful insertion. It also revealed that she was viciously struck on the head and "suffered such severe trauma to her neck from repeated choking and applications of force that her cricoid cartilage was fractured."

It was later determined that she was either beaten or suffocated to death.

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2) A key witness claimed that she spent time with Debra in her final hours

A witness named Jessica Roth claimed that she spent time with Debra Novacluse in her final hours after David Miller invited people over to the suite. Jessica alleged that she countered David outside a casino while he was inviting people over to room number 112 at Super 8 Motel, noting that he had a "smoking," "double-bedded room" there on August 26. She had live-streamed a video capturing him on Facebook.

At the motel, Jessica met Debra for the first time and later told authorities it seemed like "she [Debra] had been crying." She also said that the latter was emotional at times and that "there was some sort of abuse between her and David."

Jessica claimed that when she left sometime around 4:00 in the morning, David and Debra were the only two people in the motel room. A few hours later, the shocking discovery was made.

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3) David Miller offered varying narratives about Debra Novacluse's murder

David was the primary suspect in Debra's killing and only days after, on September 1, he was arrested in Ontario. He confessed to the murder but gave authorities a hard time and attempted to mislead by offering varying versions of the incidents that led up to the murder.

At first, David denied being in Kamloops with Debra before eventually admitting that he was with her. He denied his involvement in the matter and went on to change his narrative a couple of times throughout the interview until a final confession sealed his fate. He confessed to murdering the 52-year-old, wrapping her body in a sleeping bag, and hiding it under the mattress.

David then claimed that Debra died when he accidentally suffocated her in an attempt to defend himself after she attacked him. He also mentioned that she died during rough s*x after he "choked her too hard" and "she started bleeding."

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4) David was found guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree murder

David Miller was initially charged with first-degree murder after prosecutors alleged that Debra Novacluse's death was caused during an act of s*xual assault. But British Columbia Supreme Court Justice, Marguerite Church, was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt about the s*xual assault angle.

Therefore, Church found him guilty of a lesser second-degree charge and sentenced him to 15 years in prison in July 2020.

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Debra Novacluse's murder case will feature on ID's See No Evil this Wednesday.