Man Pleads Not Guilty in Killing of 75-Year-Old Woman in South Pasadena Home

One of two men charged in the killing of a 75-year- old woman at her South Pasadena home pleaded not guilty Friday to murder and burglary charges.

Josh Edward Atkins, 44, is charged along with the victim’s grandson, Bikramjot Singh Padda, 28, in connection with the killing of Susan Miller inside her home in the 800 block of Brent Avenue last June 4, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials said deputies responded to Miller’s home around 8:45 p.m. that night, and the victim was found dead from stab wounds to the upper body.

Reports from the scene at the time suggested Miller’s grandchildren found her body while checking on her welfare.

Prosecutors alleged that Atkins and Padda burglarized the home at about 3:30 a.m. that morning and that Miller was stabbed during the crime.

The criminal complaint alleges that Atkins personally used a knife in the commission of the crime. The complaint also alleges that another person, other than the alleged accomplice, was present during the burglary.

According to jail records, Padda was initially detained by authorities last June, but he was released two days later with no charges filed.

Padda was re-arrested last Nov. 16 by the sheriff’s department, while Atkins was arrested Nov. 12 in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to jail records. Both have remained behind bars since then.

The two men are due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom March 4.