News footage of the scene where James S. Miller was found dead, originally reported as a stabbing (KGW).
An Oregon woman now faces accusations of striking her boyfriend with her vehicle, though she asserts that he attempted to take her life first. Mary Ann McKinzy, 55, arrived in Multnomah County on Sept. 18 following her arrest by the U.S. Marshals Service in Bakersfield, California, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
Prosecutors charged McKinzy with second-degree murder, assault, and negligent homicide in connection with the death of 75-year-old James S. Miller. The Oregonian reported that court documents show McKinzy and Miller were in a relationship at the time Miller won $3,200 playing the lottery.
Court documents indicate that Miller shared $1,700 of his $3,200 prize with McKinzy. She subsequently stole an additional $800 from him, which prompted Miller to “get a couple of his boys together” to locate McKinzy and retrieve his money.
According to reports, a friend drove Miller on Nov. 28, 2025, to McKinzy’s apartment complex in Portland, Oregon, where the two men discovered her sitting in her car in the parking lot. The friend told investigators that he did not know what Miller intended to do. He later told police that he heard Miller tell McKinzy to “open the door or I’m going to bust the window open.”
Police said Miller instructed his friend to position his vehicle behind McKinzy’s car to prevent her from leaving. McKinzy then allegedly backed her car into the vehicle driven by Miller’s friend. The friend told police that when he exited the car to assess the damage, he witnessed Miller throw a knife at McKinzy’s car.
Court documents reveal that surveillance footage captured Miller stabbing McKinzy’s tires with a knife. McKinzy then allegedly shifted her car into reverse and backed over Miller. When Miller’s friend told her to move her car off Miller, she allegedly responded that he was “trying to kill” her. McKinzy then drove away from the scene.
Miller was pronounced dead at the location. Authorities initially reported his death as a possible stabbing before later determining that blunt force trauma caused his death. By the time police secured a warrant for McKinzy’s arrest, she had already left the state. Investigators located her car at a tire shop shortly after Miller’s death. Hubcaps recovered from her vehicle matched one found at the scene.
McKinzy also left many of her personal belongings inside the car before fleeing. The Portland Police Bureau reported that the U.S. Marshals Service located McKinzy in Bakersfield on Aug. 5. She remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center, with her next court appearance scheduled for Sept. 29.
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