Cheryl and Bobby Love have a fascinating love story, although it is not exactly the most romantic one out there. The two of them had been an item for 40 years, so they might sound like the sort of people that you would ask for relationship advice. Even though this might seem like the case on a surface level, it turned out that Cheryl did not know everything about her husband. She only found out the truth when the police came into their home! But what did any of this mean? What did the police want with her husband?
They Were Married For Forty Years But She Only Found Out Who He Really Is From The FBI
Not Your Typical Morning
Cheryl got up early on that January morning in 2015. She had been going about her daily routine while Bobby kept sleeping in the bedroom. All of a sudden, she heard someone knocking on the door. When she spoke to Humans of New York, she recalled, “I opened it slowly and saw the police standing there.”
Not Your Typical Morning
“Crazy Lady”
She was not worried at first. They had a “crazy lady” next door who the police would check in on every now and then. After seeing the cops, Cheryl thought that they had simply gotten the address wrong.
“Crazy Lady”
Life-Changing
“At first I wasn’t worried, but the moment I opened the door, twelve officers came barging past me,” she recounted. Even though she felt confused, she did not think that this moment was going to change their lives forever. What exactly did the police want with them?
Life-Changing
Asking For His Name
The police officers rushed by her, but Cheryl was able to make it three letters on the jackets that some of them were wearing: “FBI.” She had no clue what was going on and followed them in. She narrated, “They went straight back to the bedroom, and walked up to Bobby.” After that, she heard the cops say, “What’s your name?” Her husband then replied, “Bobby Love.”
Asking For His Name
Asking For His Name
“No, what’s your real name?” asked the police officers. Bobby answered in such a low voice that Cheryl did not catch what he said. She felt confused when the cops said, “You’ve had a long run.” The confusion soon made way for concern when Cheryl saw them put handcuffs on her husband’s hands! As Bobby was ushered out of the house, he told her, “This goes way back, Cheryl. Back before I met you.”
Asking For His Name
Walter Miller
In the ‘60s, Walter Miller was born and raised in North Carolina. He would tell you that he had a “pretty normal” childhood. However, the family lived in poverty as his mother raised eight kids on her own. It was no wonder he eventually took a bad turn in life.
Walter Miller
An 80’s Concert
Everything started when Walter Miller went to a Sam Cooke concert. “The crowd was really moving because it was dance music. And Sam Cooke didn’t like that. He kept telling people to sit down,” he said.
An 80’s Concert
Going Downhill
“And after only two songs, he walked off the stage,” he narrated. Walter then yelled out a profanity as a joke, but he got arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. When he talked about it decades later, he said, “Things went downhill pretty quickly after that.” Who would have thought that cursing would lead to so much drama?
Going Downhill
Years Of Petty Crimes
The Sam Cooke concert took place in 1964. In meant that he had a record even though he was still a very young man back then. Things snowballed after that. “I got into all sorts of trouble,” Walter said a long time after it all took place. He explained, “I lifted purses from unlocked cars, I was stealing government checks out of mailboxes, I got bolder and bolder.”
Years Of Petty Crimes
Juvenile Detention Center
One day, Walter got caught when he stole from the band room at his school. This was how he ended up at a juvenile detention center. He had already been doing petty crimes for years, but it was the first time that he had to deal with touch consequences. How was he going to handle this sudden turn of events?
Juvenile Detention Center
His Life Quickly Changed
He had been free to do whatever he wanted until he got caught by the authorities. Now, he had no choice but to follow the rules at the juvenile detention center. Walter complained about the violence and food in there by saying, “I hated everything about that place.” He also added, “I still have scars from all the times I got beat up.” This is quite shocking when you consider just how long it has been.
His Life Quickly Changed
Calculating A Plan
Walter had a habit of falling asleep to the sound of the trains passing by. Whenever he heard this, he wished that he was not confined to the juvenile detention center. There was no way he was going to stay there. He wanted to escape, but how could he pull it off?
Calculating A Plan
A Daring Escape
Every night, Walter would hear the whistles of the local train track. He would always think of getting the freedom that he craved. “I always wanted to know where that train was going,” he explained. There was no choice for him but to exercise patience as he eagerly waited for the right moment to arrive.
A Daring Escape
First Disappearance
After a while, he finally got the chance that he had been waiting for. The guard on shift turned around to check what time it was. This was the exact moment that Walter had been waiting for! He immediately ran for the exit doors. “I ran out the back door — toward the sound of that whistle. And that was the first place I ever escaped from,” he narrated. Yes, this means that it was not his last one yet!
First Disappearance
Making His Way To The Tracks
Walter went to the train tracks to do something that he had been determined to do for some time already. He wanted to find out where the train went! He would eventually hop on and find his answer. From North Carolina, it took him to Washington, D.C.
Making His Way To The Tracks
Washington D.C
At last, he thought that he had the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. It felt like luck was on his side since he had a brother who lived in Washington, D.C. Walter stayed at the apartment, attended high school, went to his classes, and even played hoops with some friends. Things started to go wrong when he started hanging out with “the wrong group of kids.” What did life have in store for him now?
Washington D.C
Much Worse Crimes
Unlike his old pals, his new friends did not do small crimes. No, they committed more terrible ones! He learned that they robbed banks. Apparently, they were able to escape because they would go to North Carolina to do this. Over there, security was not as tight.
Much Worse Crimes
Youth Gang
They continued to rob banks and get away with this. Walter said, “After every score, we’d hand out on the strip at 14th and T [Streets], and act like big timers. We felt like gangsters.” We are glad to hear that he has come clean about this terrible activity. He explained, “I have nobody to blame but myself. I just enjoyed the feeling of having money.”
Youth Gang
Getting Caught Again
However, luck would not be on their side forever. Even though they managed to escape multiple times, things came to an end in August 1971. They had no idea that one particular bank was armed with a silent alarm. A teller was able to set it off and quietly inform the police that they were being robbed.
Getting Caught Again
Back In Cuffs
Walter thought that he was in the clear but found the authorities waiting in the parking lot. He narrated, “I tried to get away, ducking and weaving, running through cars.” Even though he tried to get away, a police officer shot him. This spelled the end of his bank robbing days. What was he going to do now?
Back In Cuffs
Sentenced For His Crimes
In the end, Walter was found guilty of two bank robberies. He was given a sentence of 25 to 30 years overall. However, this was not the only bad piece of news that he got. He also found out that his mother recently passed away! Devastated, he promised that he was going to change from then on.
Sentenced For His Crimes
Maximum-Security
There had been appeals made in his name, but none of them got approved. Locked up in a maximum-security center, he was already used to life behind bars by then. He knew that his only chance at a better life would be to get transferred to the minimum-security center. It was time for him to think of a plan!
Maximum-Security
His Work Paid Off
Walter felt determined to do better and improve the state of his life. “I became the perfect inmate. I never had a mark on my record,” he shared. In the end, he got transferred to the minimum-security center. Unlike the previous one, the new place was “more like a camp.” True enough, this facility still had gun towers and high fences. Despite this, the inmates still got more freedom than what he had become used to.
His Work Paid Off
Things Were Changing
The inmates had the chance to walk outside and contact loved ones. At first, he did not really think of escaping. He was allowed to host a radio show and liked doing it. But what made him change his mind?
Things Were Changing
Everything Went Downhill
As the radio host of his own show, Walter felt “relaxed.” He had almost forgotten that feeling after what he went through! However, things took a sudden turn. A prisoner swore at the captain of the prison, who thought that it had been Walter. Let us just say that it all went downhill for him from then on.
Everything Went Downhill
Too Many Negative Reports
After that unfortunate incident, the captain did not go easy on Walter and seemed to like “picking on” on. The poor inmate got infractions on the regular. Walter shared, “The negative reports kept piling up until I was one mark away from being sent back up the hill.” He did not like the thought of backtracking at all. The only thing he could do to avoid that was to find an escape route.
Too Many Negative Reports
A New Opportunity
Thanks to all those negative reports, Walter got assigned to one of the worst jobs that inmates had to do. He was assigned to clean up the roads with a couple of fellow prisoners. It involved rising before the others did, riding a bus, and getting off at Raleigh to pick up litter. This had a part to play in his escape!
A New Opportunity
The Plotting Begins
Walter said, “It was awful. People would be throwing hamburgers and milkshakes at you. And it was almost winter, so it was starting to get cold.” Even though it was definitely not the best job on the planet, it wound up helping him out. He narrated, “That’s when I started planning and plotting.”
The Plotting Begins
His Big Escape Plan
As he started to plot his escape, he saved up money and paid attention to the little things. This was how he realized that the Tuesday morning shift guard was not as thorough as the others. The inmates were supposed to get patted down before they were allowed into the bus. This guard did not bother to do so!
His Big Escape Plan
Collecting The Necessary Information
The bus always stopped at a certain intersection. Walter took note of the fact that it was located beside the woods. He spent a long time observing small things like these. At last, he made up his mind as they watched football on TV on a Monday night. Walter said, “That was going to be my last night in prison.”
Collecting The Necessary Information
Everything Was Set
As always, he found the lazy guard standing beside the bus entrance the next morning. Walter came prepared to act out his plan. He had emptied out his locker. When he did his radio broadcast, he got to wear his civilian clothes. He put them on underneath the prison uniform.
Everything Was Set
Wailing Of The Sirens
He made himself comfortable at the back of the bus. He made sure to take the seat near the emergency exit. “As we slowed down for a stop, I swung open the back door — and I was gone,” he said. As soon as he got out, he took off the prison clothes and ran into the forest. The deeper he went, the fainter the sound of the sirens became.
Wailing Of The Sirens
The Death Of Walter Miller
“I could hear the alarm blaring behind me, but I didn’t look back,” he narrated. When he felt like it was finally safe, he went up to people to ask for directions. He wanted to know how to get to the Greyhound station. They only replied, “Keep going.” After a little while, he found the station. He had to borrow money from a stranger but managed to board a bus that was going to New York City!
The Death Of Walter Miller
The Birth Of Bobby Love
He had been sitting in his seat and minding his own business when his seatmate turned to him. She started a conversation with him! Walter said, “She asked me my name. I thought for a moment, and said: ‘Bobby Love.’ And that was the death of Walter Miller.” This was the start of his new life!
The Birth Of Bobby Love
Bobby Love
Walter now went by the name Bobby. He got to New York in November 1977. He used the money that he had on him to get a motel room. When he ran out of money, he started to live on the streets. It would look like luck was on his side because he was still able to start a new life. Thanks to good luck and a few lies, he managed to secure a driver’s license, a birth certificate, and a social security number!
Bobby Love
Needing Employment
It was time for him to find a job. He was able to work odd jobs that let him pay for his stay at hotels that charged $8 per night. We bet that even he had no idea just how good things were going to get for him.
Needing Employment
Bobby And Cheryl
Bobby was able to find employment at the cafeteria of the Baptist Medical Center. That was how he met Cheryl, who worked at the same place. They had a lovely first date that involved watching Purple Rian and a Gladys Knight and the Pips concert. Cheryl was like a breath of fresh air for him. “Cheryl was innocent. The opposite of me. And that’s why I was so attracted to her,” he said, “Cheryl was soft. Almost in a naïve way.” Even though the truth might come out at any given moment, he wanted to try a new life with her!
Bobby And Cheryl
A Heart Of Gold
She was not like anyone that he had met in the past. “Cheryl was innocent. The opposite of me. And that’s why I was so attracted to her,” he explained, “Cheryl was soft. Almost in a naïve way.” He was well aware that there were risks involved. However, he had never wanted anything more than a life with her!
A Heart Of Gold
Building A Life Together
Bobby and Cheryl walked down the aisle on March 30, 1985. At the time, she was 21 years old and he was 34. Soon after that, they had their very first child. Two years after Jasmine was born, they also welcomed Jessica! Eleven years later, they had a set of twins called Jordan and Justin.
Building A Life Together
Devoted Family Man
Bobby worked two jobs. Even though he only slept for two hours at night, he was always there for the kids. He also volunteered, joined community meetings, and stayed active in church. No one would have guessed that he was hiding a huge secret underneath this perfect image. When he was interviewed by the New York Daily News, Walter told Cheryl, “I’m not going anywhere unless somebody takes me.”
Devoted Family Man
His Secret
Bobby wanted Cheryl to know about the past. However, he knew that he “just couldn’t risk it.” On top of that, it felt like his old life was completely behind him. He also said that his wife was a “righteous woman” who would have encouraged him to give himself up to the authorities.
His Secret
Strongly Mistaken
He continued to contact the family members he had in North Carolina. However, he told his sister to only let Cheryl know about his secret after he has passed away. His sister told him that the right thing to do was to come clean. “That part of my life was buried back in North Carolina. And it wasn’t coming back,” he explained. However, he would eventually found out that this was not right.
Strongly Mistaken
Noticing Oddities
“There was a piece missing,” Cheryl explained, “something was different.” It was not only her who noticed because his friends did not as well. They took note that Bobby did not like being in photos and seemed wary when he spoke to strangers. He preferred to keep to himself as well. Sometimes, strangers would stop him on the street for directions or similarly trivial stuff. They said that he “seemed spooked.”
Noticing Oddities
Praying To The Lord
When he and Cheryl had little feuds, he liked to act closed off. “I remember during Christmas of 2014, I was on my knees in church, saying ‘Lord, please, I can’t do this anymore,’” she recounted. “That was a few weeks before everything went down.”
Praying To The Lord
Everything Came Crashing Down
Some time had passed, and he felt complacent enough to go to North Carolina to attend the funeral of his sibling. He believes that this was the moment that someone saw him and let the cops know. The FBI went to his home and put him in handcuffs soon after that. “My world came crashing down,” Cheryl said. According to her, she was more hurt than she was humiliated. “Bobby had deceived me for all those years. There was no truth in our house,” she shared. Not only that, but she also said that it felt “like I was in a movie — a Lifetime movie.” It must have been hard on her, but she had to help him out!
Everything Came Crashing Down
Facing Grim Circumstances
The odds seemed to be against them. Bobby was sent to Rikers Island in New York as he waited for his extradition to his home state. There was a chance that he would be made to serve out the remaining decade of his original sentence. On top of that, he would probably be given extra time for his escape.
Facing Grim Circumstances
For Better Or Worse
She visited her husband and saw just how bad the situation was. Cheryl shared, “When I first visited him in prison, he broke down crying.” She continued, “His head was in his hands, and he told me: ‘I know, you’re going to leave me.’ I told him: ‘No, Bobby Love, I married you for better or for worse. And now this is the worst.” After saying that, it was time for her to figure out what to do about the situation.
For Better Or Worse
Doing Everything She Could
Cheryl racked her brain to figure out how she would be able to secure his freedom. She drafted letters and sent them to the governor and even the president! On top of that, she asked their children and other loved ones to make testimonials for Bobby. “I didn’t know a thing about Walter Miller, but I told them all about Bobby Love,” she explained.
Doing Everything She Could
Addressing The Parole Board
Were these pieces of character defense going to be enough? Cheryl knew that it was worth a shot and delivered it to the parole board. Even though it felt like a long shot, there was nothing else that they could do. In the end, Bobby was released! He was allowed to continue this new life of his after spending a year behind bars. As you can imagine, things did not go back to normal for this family.
Addressing The Parole Board
Better Than Ever
Fortunately, Cheryl found it in her heart to forgive him. On top of that, the marriage became better than it used to be! Bobby also changed in the sense that he was no longer jumpy, avoidant of people, and secretive with his wife. Now that the secret was out and sorted out, Cheryl thinks that the marriage has improved. We will let this lovely quote of hers speak for them: “The day he was set free, I sat him down and I asked ‘What is it? Are we the Loves? Or are we the Millers?’ And he said: ‘We Love. We Love.’”
Better Than Ever