CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment on a murder charge against the mother and two grandparents of a 14-year-old West Virginia girl whose emaciated body was found in her home.
The body of Kyneddi Miller was found in April in the Boone County community of Morrisvale. Her case prompted a state investigation into whether law enforcement and child protective services could have intervened to prevent her death.
Deputies responding to a report of a death at the home found the girl in a bathroom and said her body was “emaciated to a skeletal state,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Boone County Magistrate Court.
The complaint said the teen had an eating disorder that led to “overwhelmingly visible conditions” and physical problems, but the mother had not sought medical care for her in at least four years. Miller was being homeschooled at the time.
Felony child neglect charges initially were filed against the girl’s mother, Julie Miller, and grandparents Donna and Jerry Stone.
On Tuesday, the grand jury indicted them on charges of murder of a child by parent, guardian or custodian by failure or refusal to supply necessities, and child neglect resulting in death, Boone County Prosecutor Dan Holstein said.
An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 18. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the three defendants had attorneys. Holstein said a copy of the indictment wouldn’t be made available to the public until Wednesday.
Brian Abraham, Gov. Jim Justice’s chief of staff, has said state police were summoned to check on the girl at her home in March 2023 but found no indication that she had been abused. A trooper then made an informal suggestion to the local human services office that she might have needed mental health resources.
But no follow-up checks were made, according to Abraham. The trooper indicated that Miller had appeared healthy to him but she said anxiety about being around people due to COVID-19 caused her not to want to leave her home.