A judge granted a prosecutor’s motion to destroy a rifle used in a March 2019 homicide Friday, April 4, in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

The Savage Axis 7mm rifle was used by Alec D. Miller in the homicide of Maximillian W. Halterman, 23. Miller was found guilty and died days later of a drug overdose in Butler County Prison, officials said.

The rifle was bought by Miller’s grandfather as a Christmas gift for Miller’s brother and kept in a gun cabinet in the grandparents’ home, the brother said in November 2023 testimony.

No one from the defense attended to claim the rifle.

The rifle was recovered from the Chevrolet Silverado that Miller drove to Halterman’s home before the homicide. Miller’s brother testified in the trial he did not know when the rifle went missing from the gun cabinet.

District Attorney Richard Goldinger said his office has murder weapons in storage dating back 50 years, and the office normally holds murder weapons indefinitely in case of an appeal.

Since Miller is deceased, the case cannot go forward because there is no one to prosecute, Goldinger said.

Assistant district attorney Benjamin Simon represented the commonwealth in the hearing but declined to comment because he was not initially assigned to the case. Assistant district attorney Laura Pitchford tried the case in 2023. Miller was represented by Joseph Leonard Smith in the 2023 case. No one represented the defense on Friday.

The trial and hearing were held before Judge Timothy McCune.