At the time of his arrest, he was an apprentice cabinet-maker who lived with his family in Dixon Road in Crosshill, in the South Side of Glasgow.
However, during this particular robbery 48 year old Cremin (a local criminal with a reputation for violence) fought back and was severely beaten over the head with a wooden plank, resulting in his death.
A newspaper cutting relating to the death of John Cremin was found in Denovan's wallet, which aroused suspicion that he was somehow involved in the crime.
[4] As a 19-year-old Miller was legally an adult, and because the murder had taken place during the course of a robbery (Cremin had been robbed of his watch, bankbook and £67),[5] he was eligible for the death penalty under the terms of the Homicide Act 1957.
Miller's family organised a petition to the Secretary of State for Scotland, John Maclay, asking him to recommend a reprieve, with a stall in Glasgow city centre.
Miller was hanged on the gallows at 8.02 a.m. on Thursday, 22 December by executioner Harry Allen, assisted by Robert Leslie Stewart.
[7] Skelton, Douglas Glasgow's Black Heart: A City's Life of Crime MacKay, Donald "Scotlands Hanged 1946 to 1963" (2016) ISBN 978-1-5262-0114-0