It was a usual morning when Cheryl suddenly heard a loud and bang on her front door, "Open Up," someone shouted from the other side. "Open up or we'll break this door," the man shouted at the top of his voice. Worried and scared, Cheryl looked at her husband, "Who is that, Bobby?" Before Bobby could answer, the knocking outside their door became louder.
When Cheryl unlatched the door, she saw men from the FBI. Did she or her husband do something wrong? Why were these people trying to arrest her spouse? That all felt like a true nightmare. Little did she know that the worst was yet to come, and her family 40 years love story was about to crash into pieces
Bobby and Cheryl
Bobby met Cheryl in the 1980s while working at the Baptist Medical Center in Brooklyn. They hit it off instantly and Bobby was extremely impressed by Cheryl’s innocence and her selfless way of living life.
The new couple started going on dates and soon after they were married. Cheryl was extremely happy to have found a man like Bobby, someone who knew her inside out, respected her and loved her immensely. She could have never imagined what she learnt 40 years later ...
Building a Life Together
The love birds got married on March 30, 1985, when Bobby was 34 years old, and Cheryl was 21. The couple was happy in their marital life and soon Cheryl became pregnant with their first child whom they named Jasmine.
A couple of years passed and they welcomed another baby girl, Jessica and after 11 years they again had two twin boys, Jordan, and Justin. Cheryl was happy with the life she shared with Bobby, unaware of the fact that 40 years down the line she would question everything.
The Fateful Morning
One morning in January 2015, Cheryl woke up when Bobby was still asleep on the bed near her. She knew he had a long night hence decided to let him sleep in.
She went to the kitchen to prepare her morning coffee and breakfast for the family. Soon after she heard some loud banging on the door and was taken aback when she heard someone call out “open up, this is the police.” Thinking of it as a routine check, Cheryl soon went to open the door. Little did she know that by opening that door, Cherly would be changing the course of her life!
Cheryl Opens the Door
Cheryl took a second or two to compose herself and proceeded to open the door. The moment she opened up she saw twelve police officers standing at her front door.
For a moment she thought there had been a mistake and they were here for the crazy lady who lived nearby, who was constantly in trouble. But to her surprise, all the twelve police officers pushed past her and barged inside her house. Shocked and scared, she couldn't understand what was happening until the FBI told her a stupefying truth!
Not Police But the FBI
When the officers were barging inside her house, she got a chance to look at the back of their jackets and realized they were not the police but the FBI. The officers scattered themselves in the house looking for something and soon accumulated themselves in the bedroom, huddled around her husband.
She felt a little relieved seeing her husband. She thought he would help her handle the situation, oblivious to the fact that it was because of him she was in this crisis.
“What’s Your Name?”
One of the officers woke Bobby up violently and as soon as he opened his eyes began asking him loudly, “What’s your name?” Bobby took a moment to process everything that was happening around him and replied meekly “Bobby Love.”
To which the officer grabbed him by the soldier and said, “No, tell us your real name.” A scared Bobby whispered something, and the officer said, “You have had a long run”, Cheryl was very confused now with what was happening around her.
This Goes Way Back
Immediately after, the officers forced Bobby out of the bed and started taking him outside of the house. Cheryl started running after him, asking hysterically what was happening and where were they taking Bobby.
She asked Bobby and he replied, “This goes way back Cheryl - before I met you and my name is not Bobby Love.” A million questions popped inside Cheryl’s head, what did he mean when he said he is not Bobby Love, who is he then.
Bobby Love aka Walter Miller
Before Bobby Love took this new name, he was Walter Miller born and brought up in North Carolina in the 1960s. He had seven other siblings and his parents often struggled to make ends meet.
His childhood was pretty normal, but he often felt unheard of amongst his seven siblings. Cheryl had no idea about his previous life as Walter Miller, wondering if she had been living a fake life all this while.
Sam Cooke Concert
It all started with a Sam Cooke concert Walter attended in the 80s with a couple of his friends. Sam Cooke did not like that the crowd kept grooving to the dance music and kept asking them to sit down.
After a while he walked off the stage and attendees were arrested for disorderly conduct. Did it take a simple concert for things to go downhill for Walter?
Criminal Record at A Young Age
With the fiasco at the Sam Cooke concert and no mistake of his own, Walter had a criminal record at a young age. From then on, he started getting in all sorts of trouble and kept pushing himself to show more daring.
Walter was now picking purses, stealing checks from mailboxes, etc. Walter kept going oblivious to the fact that this boldness will cost him dearly one day.
Walter Is Caught One Day
Soon Walter pushed his luck way too much when he stole from his school’s band room. Consequently, he was caught and sent to the juvenile detention center in his teenage years.
He was instantly stripped of the freedom he enjoyed before and now had to abide by the center’s strict rules and laws. Was this the repercussion of all the crimes Walter had committed till now?
His Life Changed Rapidly
The strict rules and code of conduct at the juvenile detention center were very demanding. Walter hated them and complained about everything, right from food to the kind of people he had to share his cell with.
Violence was very prevalent inside the detention center and Walter still carries scars from all the times he was beaten due to insignificant mistakes. Was it these scars that shaped another era of criminal activities for Walter?
A Very Daring Escape
It was becoming extremely difficult for Walter to pass his sentence at the Juvenile Detention Center, and he was constantly thinking of ways to escape. Everywhere we went inside the center, he observed all the things minutely.
From his room’s sunlight window, he could hear a train passing every day and often wondered what its destination was. He soon made up a daring plan of escape with each detail carefully planned; the only question was would he be successful in executing it.
Walter Grabs the Opportunity
One night, when the guard on night duty turned his head around, Walter grabbed the opportunity and ran out the back. He instinctively started running towards the sound of the whistle with the hope to board the train.
The farther he got from the juvenile center the happier he got. This was the first time he escaped but as time would tell, this would certainly not be the last time.
Walter’s Destination
Without giving much thought, Walter discreetly boarded the first train he saw at the railway station. He had no idea where the train would take him, but his hopes were high, he was determined to start a new life for himself.
The next morning when he woke up, he found himself in Washington D.C and was instantly happy because his brother resided there. He was now planning to live a clean life and resume school again with no clue that he would never be able to get away from the criminal life.
Walter’s Crimes Keep Increasing
As planned, Walter started living with his brother and going to school. He enjoyed his classes and an occasional game of basketball with his friends.
However, this normalcy was short-lived as Walter again found himself indulging with the wrong group of kids. Walter now committed more serious crimes like robbing banks, stealing cars and soon he began to expand himself.
North Carolina
With his friends, Walter now reached North Carolina and began robbing banks. After a successful robbery attempt, the boys partied and enjoyed themselves at strip clubs.
In interviews later, Walter admitted he immensely enjoyed living the gangster life with his friends and he liked having a lot of money on him. Soon, Walter’s dream-like life came to an end and he had one more challenge to face.
Walter Gets Caught Again
One day in August 1971, Walter, and his friends as usual were out robbing a bank and this happened to be the last robbery Walter and his friends ever did. The bank they were robbing sounded a silent alarm and they were caught by the police in the middle of the robbery.
Walter tried running away but this was the end, he was caught. It was again time for him to pay a heavy price for all his wrongdoings.
Walter Is Put in Jail Again
Found guilty of a bank robbery, Walter was sentenced to 30 years in prison. While in prison, Walter heard the news of his mother passing away and this turned out to be a life-altering experience for him.
He felt very guilty for not being able to attend his mother’s funeral. He was utterly devastated and promised himself to turn his life around. Did he mean it this time?
His Good Behavior
Determined to turn his life around, Walter turned himself into a perfect inmate. He put forward his best behavior and worked hard at all the jobs he was assigned in the prison. As a reward for his good behavior,
Walter was transferred from a maximum-security prison to minimum security prison. He was determined to make use of this opportunity and turn his life around as he promised at the time of his mother’s death.
A New Opportunity
Walter again began the work of planning his escape and to his good luck, he was assigned the job of cleaning roads. Although the job was very difficult and disrespectful still Walter saw this as an opportunity.
He observed everything closely and made notes. He decided he would escape from the bus, on route to the worksite. Would this be as easy as it sounds?
Everything Goes as Planned
The day he decided he would escape; he wore civilian clothes underneath the prison uniform and boarded the bus. He sat at the back of the bus near the emergency exit.
The moment the bus slowed down for a stop, Walter grabbed the opportunity, swung open the emergency door and ran for his life. Would this finally be the last time Walter was escaping from prison?
Birth Of Bobby Love
Walter kept running without stopping for a second and eventually reached a bus station from where he boarded a bus to New York City. He luckily found a friendly bystander who agreed to lend him some money for taking the bus.
When Walter was on the bus, the lady sitting next to him started a conversation with him and asked him his name. Taking a few seconds, Walter uttered “Bobby Love”, and this was the death of Walter Miller. Would Bobby Love have the same life as Walter Miller?
A New Life
The moment he arrived in New York; Walter aka Bobby started hustling to start a new life. He did odd jobs and with luck working in his favor he got a social security number, driver's license, and even a passport.
Then in the 1980s, he got a job at Baptist Medical Center and Cafeteria, and this is where he met Cheryl. Soon he got married to Cheryl and he finally had a new life, oblivious to the fact that it won’t last forever.
A Devoted Family Man
Bobby was a devoted family man and worked extremely hard to give his family a good life. He worked two jobs and hardly slept at night to give his children a fair chance at life.
Hence, when Cheryl learned about his past from a random source, she was shocked, her brain went in rewind and she started recalling all of her milestones with Bobby, their house, kids, friends, and most importantly their marriage. Would Cheryl now choose to stick to her marriage with Bobby or leave him?
Cheryl Stays
When Cheryl went to the prison to see Bobby, he broke down and said, “I know you are now going to leave me.” To Bobby’s surprise, Cheryl recalled their wedding vows and reminded Bobby she is going to stay forever, for better or worse.
Bobby found himself the luckiest man alive on the planet. Then began the long process of fighting for Bobby’s release and Cheryl working on her plan.