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Bobby Love was the name Walter Miller used after escaping from a North Carolina prison in 1977. He built a life in Brooklyn with his wife, Cheryl, and their children, keeping his past secret for decades. In January 2015, police and FBI agents arrived at the couple’s home and arrested him. Cheryl learned then that her husband had once escaped from prison.
Who was Bobby Love?
Walter Miller was born in 1950, according to Publishers Weekly. He was incarcerated in 1971 after committing armed bank robberies. After six years in prison, he escaped while working on a road crew, then fled to New York and began using the name Bobby Love. The News & Observer also dates his escape to 1977 and reports that authorities eventually tracked him down in 2015 (The News & Observer).
In New York, Miller found work, met Cheryl, married her and raised a family. He did not tell her about his former identity or escape. The available accounts are based on the couple’s memoir and interviews, not court or prison records; they should not be read as a complete, court-verified case file.
Why did police come to his home?
In January 2015, police and FBI agents came to the Loves’ Brooklyn home and arrested Bobby. Cheryl learned during the arrest that her husband was Walter Miller, a prison escapee. Accounts identify the arrest and the couple’s discovery as key events, but the sources available here do not include an official law-enforcement explanation of how investigators located him.
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Bobby later said he did not know exactly how authorities found him. On The Criminal transcript, he speculated that a family member might have connected the name “Bobby Love,” printed in a program for his brother’s funeral, to his past. That is his theory, not a confirmed investigative finding.
In the same transcript, Bobby recalled that the reward for him had remained $2,000 since 1977. This is his recollection; the amount has not been independently verified here against an official reward notice.
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What happened after the arrest?
Bobby returned to North Carolina custody. The News & Observer reported that he was released on parole on January 5, 2016, citing the New York Daily News for the date. That report says he spent less than a year back in prison. After his release, Bobby said, “I feel like a big burden has been lifted off my shoulders,” as quoted in that account.
Cheryl supported him at his parole hearing. In The Criminal transcript, she recalled telling the board, “I’ve known him to be a good father, a good husband…” She also said, “everybody has a past, and everybody needs a second chance.” These are Cheryl’s statements about her experience and belief, not findings about the underlying criminal case.
How the Loves told their story
Bobby and Cheryl Love wrote The Redemption of Bobby Love: A Story of Faith, Family, and Justice with Lori L. Tharps. The memoir presents both spouses’ perspectives: Bobby’s account of the escape and the life he made under another name, and Cheryl’s experience of building a family without knowing his history. WBUR identifies the book in its interview with the couple, and Publishers Weekly describes its parallel narratives.
The memoir is the most direct way to hear the couple’s fuller account. Publishers Weekly lists print and ebook editions at 288 pages, as well as a compact-disc edition. Its reviewed print edition is ISBN 978-0-358-56605-2; the compact-disc edition is ISBN 978-0-358-58170-3, the ebook ISBN is 978-0-358-56622-9, and a paperback is listed under ISBN 978-0-06-326907-1. These are bibliographic details, not confirmation of current availability or price.
The Loves’ story also appeared in an 11-part Humans of New York series, according to The News & Observer’s 2020 account. The series offers another way to encounter their story, while the memoir provides the couple’s account in book form.
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What remains uncertain
- The sources available here do not establish precisely how investigators identified Bobby Love or what evidence led them to the Brooklyn home.
- His explanation involving the funeral program is speculation he shared, not an official account.
- The exact parole-release date is reported by The News & Observer, which cites the New York Daily News; no official correctional record is included in these sources.
- The narrative details come from interviews, a memoir review and reporting. The sources do not include court records, prison records or an official law-enforcement account.
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