Runaway Groom: Cold Feet—or Cold-Blooded Murder?
Ron Peterson
Nov 2025 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
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A father seeks answers in the thirty-year-old missing persons case of his son, who disappeared two days before his wedding.
Good-hearted country boy Petie Miller vanishes without a trace two days before his wedding in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in 1983. Some speculate it’s a case of cold feet, but investigators suspect cold-blooded murder. The bride’s stepfather, a violent career criminal named Charlie Almond, is the prime suspect. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Almond killed Miller and successfully disposed of the body. But with no witnesses, no forensic evidence, and no body, Almond is allowed to walk free. Meanwhile, Miller’s father never stops seeking answers about what happened to his son. For three decades, he tirelessly pushes the investigation forward, imploring the authorities to keep his son’s case file open. Finally, thirty-two years later in 2015, new witnesses emerge and Almond, now an octogenarian, is charged with first-degree murder. Chances of a guilty verdict seem slim, but special prosecutor Phil Figura, known in courtrooms as the “Dragonslayer,” is determined to bring justice. Can Figura win a conviction in the oldest, coldest “no body” murder trial in United States history?
Bestselling true crime author Ron Peterson, Jr. was provided exclusive access to the police case file to research this compelling story. He interviewed over fifty sources, including family members of both Petie Miller and Charlie Almond, and worked closely with prosecutor Phil Figura and lead investigator Aaron LeVeck to chronicle the incredible true events in this book.
In a case where justice seems impossible, could the truth finally prevail—or will a killer once again slip away?
Good-hearted country boy Petie Miller vanishes without a trace two days before his wedding in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in 1983. Some speculate it’s a case of cold feet, but investigators suspect cold-blooded murder. The bride’s stepfather, a violent career criminal named Charlie Almond, is the prime suspect. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Almond killed Miller and successfully disposed of the body. But with no witnesses, no forensic evidence, and no body, Almond is allowed to walk free. Meanwhile, Miller’s father never stops seeking answers about what happened to his son. For three decades, he tirelessly pushes the investigation forward, imploring the authorities to keep his son’s case file open. Finally, thirty-two years later in 2015, new witnesses emerge and Almond, now an octogenarian, is charged with first-degree murder. Chances of a guilty verdict seem slim, but special prosecutor Phil Figura, known in courtrooms as the “Dragonslayer,” is determined to bring justice. Can Figura win a conviction in the oldest, coldest “no body” murder trial in United States history?
Bestselling true crime author Ron Peterson, Jr. was provided exclusive access to the police case file to research this compelling story. He interviewed over fifty sources, including family members of both Petie Miller and Charlie Almond, and worked closely with prosecutor Phil Figura and lead investigator Aaron LeVeck to chronicle the incredible true events in this book.
In a case where justice seems impossible, could the truth finally prevail—or will a killer once again slip away?
A father seeks answers in the thirty-year-old missing persons case of his son, who disappeared two days before his wedding.
Good-hearted country boy Petie Miller vanishes without a trace two days before his wedding in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in 1983. Some speculate it’s a case of cold feet,...
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About the author
Runaway Groom is the fifth book by bestselling true crime author Ron Peterson, Jr. He is the author of Under the Trestle, recognized as one of the top one hundred true crime books of all time, and Chasing the Squirrel, optioned as a television series on a streaming service with Los Angeles-based Urban Legends Film Company. The Oxygen television network based a 2025 television show on his book In the Wind. Peterson is a Radford University journalism graduate, where he played NCAA baseball and was an editor with the university newspaper. His professional experience includes a background in television advertising, developing ad campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Peterson makes his home in the historic downtown of Smithfield, Virginia.
Runaway Groom is the fifth book by bestselling true crime author Ron Peterson, Jr. He is the author of Under the Trestle, recognized as one of the top one hundred true crime books of all time, and Chasing the Squirrel, optioned as a television series on a streaming service with Los Angeles-based ...
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