Anything But An Ordinary Morning
Cheryl woke up as she usually did and began her morning routine while her husband remained sleeping. It was a typical morning in January of 2015 when she heard a knock. To her surprise, she was met by a group of policemen as she opened the front door.
Anything But An Ordinary Morning
It Must Be Some Mistake
Her first thought was that there was a mistake and the police were at the wrong door. The couple had a ‘crazy’ next-door neighbor that the police would often come and check-up on. However, the police weren’t there for the next-door neighbor.
It Must Be Some Mistake
A State Of Confusion
Cheryl states that she didn’t feel fear, only confusion at the fact that 12 police officers had barged into her house. The police made their way to the bedroom and woke up Cheryl’s husband.
A State Of Confusion
That’s Not His Name
They kept asking for his name to which he would reply, ‘Bobby Love.’ The police insisted that that wasn’t his name. Moments passed, and hushed tones came from Cheryl’s husband.
That’s Not His Name
Betrayal
Instantly, he was handcuffed and pushed out of the house. While escorted out of his own home, Bobby said to Cheryl, “This goes back. Back before I met you.”
Betrayal
Meet Mister Miller
Bobby Love, or formerly known as Walter Miller, had grown up with his mother and seven siblings in North Carolina. His mother struggled to support him and his siblings financially, and soon these conditions led to him engaging in illegal activities.
Meet Mister Miller
An Evening With Sam Cooke
It all started at a Sam Cooke concert. The crowd was unmanageable and wouldn’t listen to Sam Cooke’s demands for the audience to stay in their seats. The artist walked off the stage after two songs because of this.
An Evening With Sam Cooke
His First Arrest
Miller shouted some profane language towards the stage as a humorous response to Sam Cooke exiting the stage. Officers saw it as a rebellious act and arrested him. After this, it only got worse.
His First Arrest
His Days Of Crime
Miller began committing petty crimes, and although very young, he established a pretty dense criminal record. In an interview, Miller shared that he was always getting into trouble for stealing checks from mailboxes, purses from unlocked cars, and more.
His Days Of Crime
Incarcerated
Eventually, all of Miller’s crimes caught up to him, and he was sent to a detention center after being caught stealing something from his school’s music room.
Incarcerated
The Realities Of Jail
Miller claims that his life completely changed as soon as he was sent to that juvenile center. He hated it there and shared how terribly the food was, and how he was treated like an animal.
The Realities Of Jail
His Battle Wounds
He describes all of the violent acts that were being committed inside the center. He even showed some of the scars he acquired while being incarcerated.
His Battle Wounds
Planning His Freedom
He couldn’t take being in the center anymore. That’s when he started to plan his escape. He heard the sounds of a train at night and shared how curious and excited he was to find out where that train was traveling to.
Planning His Freedom
His Opportunity
Miller got the opportunity to escape when one of the guards on duty failed to operate the gate of the juvenile center properly. He ran off out the back door when the guard turned to look at the time.
His Opportunity
Following The Train Tracks
Walter ran for the tracks as soon as he escaped. He followed the train tracks and headed north, which led him to Washington, DC.
Following The Train Tracks
Welcome To Washington
He lived with his brother while he was in Washington, DC, and felt that things were starting to change. He enrolled himself in a school nearby and started going to classes. However, everything went downhill when he became friends with the wrong group of kids.
Welcome To Washington
Becoming A Rich Man
Unlike the petty crimes he committed in North Carolina, the crimes he was taking part in while living in Washington were a lot more drastic. Miller started robbing banks with his new friend group. The more money he stole, the more inclined he was to carry on stealing.
Becoming A Rich Man
His Luck Ran Out
Miller and his gang got away with all the robberies they committed. However, that all changed when they robbed a bank with a silent alarm. Miller’s luck had finally run out, and he was arrested for a second time.
His Luck Ran Out
Incarcerated… Again
Walter Miller was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. Along with this, Miller had just found out that his mother had died. The passing of his mother made him realize that he needed to change his life for the better.
Incarcerated… Again
Freedom In Jail
Miller became devoted to changing his life around and becoming better. Inside the prison, he became the perfect inmate and had no new marks on his record. Due to this, he was transferred from maximum security into a minimum-security center.
Freedom In Jail
As Good As It Could Get
The new center was more like a camp, and he felt it to be less strict. Walter liked his life in the new center as it came with a greater sense of liberty. He was able to call relatives and even had his own radio show.
As Good As It Could Get
Mistaken Identity
However, the comfort that he felt in this new center was short-lived. One prisoner yelled something profane to the prison’s captain. The captain mistakenly thought that Miller had been the one to insult him.
Mistaken Identity
Short-Lived Liberty
The captain that thought Miller had insulted him began to pick on the prisoner. The captain’s dislike of Miller led to endless amounts of complaints that were put on Miller’s record.
Short Lived Liberty
Put On Trash Duty
Eventually, Miller was one mark away from being sent back to maximum security. Due to this ‘bad behavior,’ Miller was put on early morning trash duty.
Put On Trash Duty
Planning Another Escape
The punishment of having to pick up trash was hard on Miller. He realized he had had enough, and that’s when he decided to plan his escape. He started saving money and began taking notes of valuable information that he would need to escape.
Planning Another Escape
Waiting And Observing
He noticed that every Tuesday while boarding the bus to collect trash, the officer on duty would be too lazy and never pat the prisoners down before entering the bus.
Waiting And Observing
He Was Ready
Walter took all of his belongings from his locker and was wearing civilian clothes under his prison uniform that Tuesday morning. He placed himself at the back of the bus and sat by the emergency exit.
He Was Ready
No More Prison Clothes
When the bus slowed down to stop, he took the opportunity, opened the back door, and ran for it. He removed his prison clothes and ran off into the woods. He could hear police sirens but the sounds grew more and more distant as he continued running.
No More Prison Clothes
A Bus To New York City
He found the Greyhound station and used some of the money he had been saving to purchase a bus ticket to New York City. He was now known as Bobby Love.
A Bus To New York City
A New Life
Bobby got a job at the Baptist Medical Center cafeteria in Brooklyn. This is where he met his wife, Cheryl. He fell madly in love with her and admired her innocence. She was the complete opposite of Bobby, which made him fall for her even more.
A New Life
Mr. And Mrs. Love
They got married on March 30, 1985, and soon after gave birth to their first child. They went on to have four children together, Justine, Jessica, Jordan, and Justin.
Mr. And Mrs. Love
Bobby: The Family Man
Bobby worked very hard to provide for his family and did anything he could to make sure his family was taken care of. He was a dedicated husband, father, employee, and active in the Church and volunteered in community meetings.
Bobby: The Family Man
A Secret He’d Die With
He hated keeping his past life from his family, but he was too scared to tell them as he believed that they’d leave him. That’s why he swore he would take his secret past life to the grave.
A Secret He’d Die With
Something Was Never Right
Cheryl mentioned that something always felt off with Bobby. Friends even noticed this. He never wanted to be in pictures, and he was always anxious, on edge, and could never fully relax.
Something Was Never Right
The Truth Uncovered
Over the years, Bobby started to feel more comfortable and eventually went back to visit his hometown. His presence in North Carolina tipped the authorities off and led to them re-investigating his case. This caused his arrest in January of 2015.
The Truth Uncovered
It All Came Crashing Down
Cheryl explained that she felt her whole world come crashing down. She was extremely hurt and felt her entire marriage was a lie, which led to her doubting every aspect of her relationship with her husband.
It All Came Crashing Down
Time To Face The Music
Miller (aka Love) was waiting for his deportation back to North Carolina, where he would be facing 10 years and the extra time that remained from his previous detention. Cheryl stuck by and began putting a plan in place to help her husband.
Time To Face The Music
For Better Or For Worse
Cheryl started fighting for her husband’s freedom and even wrote testimonials to the state governor and President Obama. Added to this, she provided the parole board with endless amounts of character defense.
For Better Or For Worse
The Impossible Made Possible
All of Cheryl’s hard work paid off, and the parole board granted that Bobby be set free to start a new life after fulfilling his sentence of one year in prison.
The Impossible Made Possible
The Best It’s Ever Been
Bobby and Cheryl’s marriage is stronger than ever. They are completely honest with each other, and Bobby is finally able to relax after years and years of always being anxious. He is finally able to be fully open and honest with his wife, which he had wanted to do from the start. Now it was finally time for them to start the next chapter of their lives together, without any secrets between them.
The Best It’s Ever Been