The Steak and Ale Murders: A Chilling Chapter in Winston-Salem’s Dark History
In the quiet city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the festive spirit of the 1982 holiday season was shattered by a brutal double murder that would leave an indelible mark on the community. On December 23, just two days before Christmas, the Steak and Ale restaurant on Stratford Road became the scene of a heinous crime that claimed the lives of two young employees: Richard Adams Jr., a 21-year-old management trainee, and Kim Miller, a 24-year-old bartender. The perpetrator, John Sterling Gardner, would later confess to the killings, cementing his name in the annals of North Carolina’s criminal history. This is the story of the Steak and Ale murders—a tale of violence, desperation, and a justice system pushed to its limits.
The Night of the Crime
It was well past midnight when the Steak and Ale restaurant, a popular dining spot in Winston-Salem, had closed its doors for the night. Richard Adams, a recent graduate of Emory & Henry College with a business degree, was still in the small office, diligently totaling the day’s receipts. The numbers weren’t adding up, so he stayed late to balance them—a decision that would prove fatal. Keeping him company was Kim Miller, a bartender who worked four nights a week to support her true calling as a Jehovah’s Witness, spreading her faith door-to-door. She was polishing the brass bar, passing the time as Adams worked.
Around 12:15 to 12:30 a.m., a knock came at the back door. Miller, perhaps expecting a late-night delivery or a straggling employee, cracked it open and asked, “Can I help you?” The response was swift and merciless. John Sterling Gardner, armed with a 20-gauge shotgun, forced his way inside. Pointing the weapon at Miller, he demanded to be taken to the safe. She complied, leading him to the office where Adams sat at his desk, engrossed in his calculator.
Miller grabbed a bag of money from the desk and handed it to Gardner, but the situation spiraled out of control. Startled by the intrusion, Adams jumped from his chair. Without hesitation, Gardner fired a single shot into Adams’ face, killing him instantly. As Miller fell to her knees, pleading for her life, Gardner showed no mercy. He pressed the barrel of the shotgun to her neck and pulled the trigger. An earring, marked with powder burns, was later found several feet from her body—a grim testament to the force of the blast. Gardner fled the scene with $2,696.55 in cash, leaving behind a trail of blood and devastation.
The Perpetrator: John Sterling Gardner
John Sterling Gardner was no stranger to crime. Just two months earlier, he had been paroled from prison after serving time for previous offenses. His freedom was short-lived, however, as he quickly resumed a spree of robberies across North Carolina. On December 17, five days before the Steak and Ale murders, Gardner had shot and killed 72-year-old Ray T. Shaver during a robbery at Shaver’s home in Rowan County. Shaver was giving his dog a bath when Gardner ended his life with a bullet to the back of the head. Gardner also broke into a home near Albemarle, tying up an elderly couple and robbing them, and committed hold-ups at nightclubs and motels.
After the Steak and Ale killings, Gardner spent his ill-gotten gains with reckless abandon. He bought a used Chevelle for $825, a rabbit coat, and a St. Bernard puppy for his girlfriend—lavish purchases that belied the brutality of his actions. But his spree wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.
The Investigation and Confession
The breakthrough in the case came on March 17, 1983, when Jeff Royal, an inmate at the Forsyth County jail, implicated Gardner in the Steak and Ale murders. Confronted by police, Gardner initially denied involvement, spinning a tale about a man named “Johnny”—a supposed six-foot-six, 250-pound figure with tattoos and a Datsun hatchback—who he claimed had confessed to the crime. The story didn’t hold up. A week later, after failing a polygraph test, Gardner’s resolve crumbled.
On March 23, 1983, after waiving his Miranda rights, Gardner confessed. He admitted to being the triggerman, detailing how he had entered the restaurant, shot Adams and Miller, and fled with the money. He even guided police to the crime scene, showing them the driveway he’d used, where he’d parked, and the door he’d forced open. A second, tape-recorded confession followed, in which he described the victims’ positions and the precise locations of their wounds. The next day, March 24, he clarified additional details, sealing his fate.
A key witness bolstered the case: Linda Cain, a cashier at a neighboring restaurant, had been walking to her car when she heard the shotgun blasts. She saw a man—later identified as Gardner—run from the Steak and Ale to a waiting car, locking eyes with him for several seconds. Her identification from a police photo lineup was unwavering, tying Gardner directly to the scene.
Trial and Execution
Gardner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Adams and Miller, as well as the earlier murder of Ray T. Shaver. His trial in Forsyth County drew significant attention, with Gardner’s defense arguing that extensive media coverage—dubbing the case the “Steak and Ale murders”—had prejudiced the jury pool. The motion for a change of venue was denied, and the trial proceeded.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, including his own confessions and Cain’s testimony, Gardner’s legal team fought to portray him as a man driven by desperation rather than cold calculation. The prosecution, however, painted a picture of a remorseless killer who had escalated from robbery to murder with chilling efficiency. The jury agreed, convicting Gardner on all counts.
Sentenced to death, Gardner spent nine years on Central Prison’s death row, one of 72 men awaiting execution in North Carolina. On October 23, 1992, nearly a decade after the murders, he became the fifth person executed in the state since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977. As the hour of his execution approached, Gardner was said to be calm, even offering support to those around him. “He’s holding up everyone else,” remarked Ellen Gelbin, one of his attorneys from Winston-Salem.
For the victims’ families, the execution brought a complex mix of closure and lingering pain. Richard Adams’ and Kim Miller’s parents watched as Gardner was put to death, a moment they described as a “necessary process in an orderly society.”
Legacy of the Steak and Ale Murders
The Steak and Ale murders remain a haunting chapter in Winston-Salem’s history, a reminder of how quickly violence can erupt in the most ordinary of places. Richard Adams, with his promising career ahead, and Kim Miller, with her quiet devotion to her faith, were lives cut short by a man who saw them as obstacles to his greed. The case also underscored the challenges of justice in high-profile crimes, from the weight of media scrutiny to the emotional toll on a community.
Today, the Stratford Road Steak and Ale is a distant memory, but the story of that cold December night endures—a stark true crime tale of loss, retribution, and the long shadow cast by a single, irreversible act.