The grandmother opened her six-year-old granddaughter's coffin and heard her whisper, “Don't let Dad take me back.” Without screaming, she grabbed her phone and called the police. But when they found two padlocks and a key hidden beneath the lining, they realized the funeral was concealing something far worse.

Six months later, the legal proceedings concluded in the Hennepin County District Court.

Gavin Miller and Priscilla Miller were tried jointly before a jury of their peers. The trial lasted less than five days. The prosecution presented undeniable forensic evidence: the digital tablet search history, the financial records proving motive, the chemical residue of sedatives found in Savannah’s hair follicles, and the custom-fitted coffin with its metal restraints and hidden padlocks.

The jury returned a verdict in under two hours.

Guilty on all counts: attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit fraud, kidnapping, and child abuse.

Judge Sarah Sterling didn't bother hiding her disgust when she handed down the sentence.

“Mr. and Mrs. Miller, you engineered a cold-blooded, premeditated execution plot against an innocent six-year-old child—your own flesh and blood—driven by nothing more than financial greed and utter moral bankruptcy,” Judge Sterling said, her voice ringing clear across the silent courtroom. “This court sentences each of you to consecutive maximum terms totaling life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”

Gavin didn't look at the gallery. He kept his eyes fixed on the defense table as the bailiffs placed handcuffs on his wrists and led him away.

Priscilla sobbed quietly, but no one in the courtroom offered her sympathy.

Back in Duluth, far away from the courtroom drama, Rosalind and Savannah were planting tulip bulbs in the front garden.

The rich, dark earth was cool against their hands as they tucked the small brown bulbs into the dirt, preparing them for the long winter so they could bloom brilliantly in the spring.

Savannah looked up, wiping a smudge of dirt across her forehead, and smiled brightly at her grandmother.

“Will they grow tall, Grandma?”