Sarah Mills

Name: Sarah Mills
Age: Unknown (Deceased)
Relationships: John Wakefield (Ex-boyfriend; Deceased)
Family:
*Spouse: Charlie Mills (Deceased)
*Children: Henry Dunn (Deceased), Abby Mills
Portrayed by: Sarah-Jane Redmond

Sarah Mills (Sarah-Jane Redmond) was the wife of Charlie Mills and mother of Abby Mills. Her murder at the hands of John Wakefield in 2001 is one of the driving incidents in the backstory of Harper's Island.

History

Bad Romance

Sarah would later describe her teenage years as wild and rebellious, with her seeking out trouble, particularly in the form of dangerous men. One of these men was a Tacoma fisherman named John Wakefield, who entered into a relationship with Sarah in the early 1980s. Wakefield was very possessive of his girlfriend, however, and the relationship soon turned abusive. When Sarah discovered she was pregnant, she left the relationship and, when she had her baby, gave it up for adoption.

Sarah subsequently relocated to Harper's Island and eventually married the local sheriff, Charlie Mills, having a daughter with him.

In 1984, approximately three years after Sarah left him, Wakefield tracked her down on the island, seeking to press her for information about their child. Charlie came to his wife's defense, ordering two of his deputies to rough Wakefield up to "teach him a lesson". Wakefield fought back, severely injuring one of the deputies, Cole Harkin, in the process.

Charlie used the attack on Harkin as pretext to charge Wakefield with Attempted Murder of a Police Officer, for which he was sentenced to life in prison.

An Idyllic Life

The Mills family was a happy one. Abby grew up in the close company of Henry, the boy who was Sarah and Wakefield's son, given up by Sarah to her friends Frank and Karen Dunn. That Henry and Abby were siblings was a secret known only to Sarah and Karen, unknown even to their respective husbands.

In later years, Charlie would remember many picnics he and his wife had had beneath a willow tree near the Eastern Bluff.

Wakefield's Return

Full article: 2001 Wakefield Murders

Wakefield was released from prison on good behavior, having served only 17 years of his sentence. He immediately made plans to return to the island and exact his revenge on the Mills family. These plans would go into effect on October 4 of that year.

That day, Sarah had a minor disagreement with her daughter Abby, who had been planning on going "camping" (an island euphemism for sex) with her boyfriend Jimmy Mance. Sarah eventually relented under the condition that Charlie not know.

Wakefield's campaign of terror began shortly after Abby left the house. After blowing up the Marina and fleeing into the woods, Wakefield forced his way into the Mills house and successfully subdued Sarah.

Death

Sarah is hung on the Tree of Woe.

Abby returned home from the burning marina later that afternoon and discovered the signs of a struggle. Ignoring her father's warnings to stay in the house, she went into the woods searching for her mother and discovered her hanging, along with two others, from the same willow tree the family had often picnicked under before.

The exact circumstances of Sarah's death are unknown.

Trivia

• Sarah Jane-Redmond is credited in the end credits for her flashback appearance in Thrack, Splat, Sizzle, but is credited as a guest star for her (comparatively briefer) flashback appearance in Sigh.
• The exact order the three victims were strung from the Tree of Woe is unknown, but it stands to reason Wakefield killed Sarah, the source of his rage, last, making her the final victim of the 2001 rampage.
• In a Harper's Globe article shown occasionally in the series and featured in the archive on HarpersGlobe.com, Charlie mentions he and Sarah used to picnic beneath the tree that she would die on. This makes the fact of her dying there harshly ironic, and suggests the possibility that Wakefield knew this when he chose the tree as the site of her death.

Behind the Scenes

• A deleted scene for Crackle had Abby and Cal discover sketches Sarah had done of her students while on the scavenger hunt. Abby told Cal her mother was a school teacher.
• Sarah is the only character to be credited as a guest star while never appearing outside flashbacks.

Appearances

1. Thrack, Splat, Sizzle (flashbacks)
2. Sigh (flashback)