Toronto filmmaker to expose new evidence in documentary of Clayton Miller case

Filmmaker doing documentary on Clayton Miller Death of Cape Breton teenager has been ruled accidental, but a new film will look at evidence that points to murder. Kyle Moore reports.

SYDNEY -- A controversial case known to many in Cape Breton has now caught the eye of a Toronto filmmaker.

The family of Clayton Miller has been searching for answers into their son's death for three decades.

Now they are hoping the public will be able to see the evidence they've been looking at all this time.

It's been almost 30 years since Gervase and Maureen Miller last saw their son alive.

They've been fighting for answers ever since, and now they're telling their story through a different lens.

"It's all in one setting and people can see everything that has been gathered over the years as evidence to prove what we've been saying all along, that Clayton was murdered, and it was covered up," Maureen Miller said.

Clayton Miller died after police broke up a party in May 1990.

For years, his parents have raised questions about his death and there have been investigations, including one by the Serious Incident Response Team, that found Clayton Miller died of natural causes.

But the family now has the attention of a Toronto filmmaker.

"There was just so much interest and pure dissatisfaction in the public over there, that I figured there must be something to it -- or there might be," said director Madison Matthews.

Matthews says, after looking at an RCMP case file and other evidence, something didn't add up, and thought it deserved a closer look.

So he came up with the idea of doing a documentary.

"We would like to submit it to the Toronto International Film Festival for 2020 in the documentary category, so we're trying to hit some current financing targets for that," Matthews said.

To date, more than $20,000 has been raised by family supporters and money from Matthews himself to produce the production.

"This has been going on for just about three decades and I would like all the people to know, as many as possible, what went on that Friday night that all this happened," said Clayton's father Gervase Miller.

Maureen Miller admits the family has hit several road blocks over the years, but says it hasn't slowed them down.

"If this was your child, what would you do?" she asked. "In my opinion, if you're not going to fight for your kids, then you shouldn't have had them in the first place."

The Millers say new evidence and witnesses will be revealed in the documentary -- adding to a story that's created headlines for years.