NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Police in Newport Beach, Calif. are investigating after Wendi Miller, 48, and Darren Partch, 38, were found dead in their home on Saturday, April 21.
Miller lived in Holland with her family nearly a decade ago, and 13 ON YOUR SIDE reported on her when she was arrested for a parental kidnapping warrant in 2011.
At the time, Miller was going by Wendi Carpenter and she had been ordered to turn her kids over to their father. The mother of two took her children across state lines to Colorado Springs, Colorado. On Aug. 30, 2011, she was arraigned in Holland for two counts of parental kidnapping.
The Newport Beach Police Department said they are conducting an active homicide investigation. Miller went missing Friday night, and family and friends were posting about her disappearance on Facebook. She had been living in Costa Mesa, Calif. since 2016.
Miller was the CEO of Wings for Justice, an organization that works to protect children in the family court system. Following the news of her death, posts on social media honored and remembered her work that helped women and children.
Miller's family released this statement to ABC 7 in Los Angeles saying: "Wendi lit up every room she entered. She was an amazing, loving mother. She was joy and light and love. An enormous hole just opened up in all our lives. She was fiercely dedicated to keeping children safe. The mission statement of her nonprofit-Wings for Justice-describes almost too simply the fight she waged: 'We protect children in the family court system and advocate for change.' She should still be here with us. We urge anyone with information about her death to come forward."
Wings for Justice said they are "deeply grieving the loss of [their] friend and leader, Wendi Miller." The organization said Miller poured her life into helping people facing issues in the family court system. They shared an expert from a book that Miller was going to publish soon:
"As I paced further, I started feeling truth come to my mind of all that was lost, all that was suffered, all the injustice that was done, and all the pain that was endured in our lives, mine and my children’s. Then, I could see the truth of how all the pain and suffering that we endured is coming full circle. It is bringing hope, healing, truth, and freedom into the lives of those who are going through similar suffering and pain today."
ABC 7 reports that Partch is a former minor league hockey player who worked as a finance and credit consultant.
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