Murder Victim Ignored for an Hour after Being Shot in Little Italy

Robert W.. Miller, Jr.

Last month, the 9th homicide of 2023 in the city of Niagara Falls took place on the formerly busy Pine Avenue in the Little Italy so-called tourist district, which has fallen on hard times, along with the rest of the city, over the past decades.

Once a thriving thoroughfare of offices, stores and restaurants, including the famous Como which closed just last month, Pine Avenue is now characterized by a mishmosh of discount clothing stores, pawn shops, greasy spoons and the occasional weed dispensary, and is generally not a safe place to be after dark.

Although media reports vary, it’s clear that Robert W. Miller, 47, of the Falls languished for nearly an hour on Pine Avenue between the busy McDonalds and Hyde Park Blvd before being found, declared unresponsive and then deceased from a gunshot wound, having passed while seated in his pickup truck.

Miller was a father and grandfather.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 716-286-4553 or the police general information number at 716-286-4711. Callers can remain anonymous.