WV - Kyneddi Miller, 14-year old starved to death, mother arrested - 4/20/24

[imstilla.grandma]

“I know cases where CPS has not shown for up weeks or months on end," Dorsey said. "How can you help somebody if you don’t show up? How can you help that child if you don’t show up?”

W.Va. Child Protective Services accountability the focus of Beckley rally

“We got to do better. We got to do better than this.”TRACK ONE: Each person who spoke had their own personal story about CPS involvement or CPS not showing up w

wchstv.com

 

[tlcya]

Police officers claimed they saw the now deceased girl nearly a year before her death. They say they were concerned about her wellbeing so they went to Boone County’s Child Protective Services to file a referral in person.

Officials with CPS, which is a division of the Department of Human Services, say they have no record of that.

But GPS data, police reports, and audio obtained from the police officer who visited Kyneddi in 2023, all corroborate the police officer’s claim that they went to CPS to make a referral.
[snip]
Police are mandatory reporters of abuse, meaning if they see abuse they have to report it. So are teachers, but because Miller had been pulled from school, teachers no longer had access to her.

Now many lawmakers, agency heads, and the governor are calling for changes to home school laws in the state.

They say public school classrooms are often where child abuse is discovered and have attributed Miller’s homeschooling status a factor in her death.
Death Of Kyneddi Miller Sparks Policy Conversations Around CPS And Homeschooling - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) says the issue of the assessments and making sure they all get done could be addressed in a special session of the legislature later this summer. Delegate Crouse says the rules are already on the books, they just need to be enforced.

If home-school assessments are not done, boards of education and school superintendents can take the case to circuit court and have a judge remove the child from home-schooling. That did not happen in this case.
Home school advocates say rules should have protected Kyneddi Miller, teacher’s unions disagree

 

[AislingGray18]

Police officers claimed they saw the now deceased girl nearly a year before her death. They say they were concerned about her wellbeing so they went to Boone County’s Child Protective Services to file a referral in person.

Officials with CPS, which is a division of the Department of Human Services, say they have no record of that.

But GPS data, police reports, and audio obtained from the police officer who visited Kyneddi in 2023, all corroborate the police officer’s claim that they went to CPS to make a referral.
[snip]
Police are mandatory reporters of abuse, meaning if they see abuse they have to report it. So are teachers, but because Miller had been pulled from school, teachers no longer had access to her.

Now many lawmakers, agency heads, and the governor are calling for changes to home school laws in the state.

They say public school classrooms are often where child abuse is discovered and have attributed Miller’s homeschooling status a factor in her death.
Death Of Kyneddi Miller Sparks Policy Conversations Around CPS And Homeschooling - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) says the issue of the assessments and making sure they all get done could be addressed in a special session of the legislature later this summer. Delegate Crouse says the rules are already on the books, they just need to be enforced.

If home-school assessments are not done, boards of education and school superintendents can take the case to circuit court and have a judge remove the child from home-schooling. That did not happen in this case.
Home school advocates say rules should have protected Kyneddi Miller, teacher’s unions disagree

If that officer went in person to report this, they were dead serious about it.
While I only know my two states, I have never, ever seen an officer walk into the CPS building to make a report, they call the 800 line, that is a call center. Call Centers have goals and metrics, and the number one goal is to screen OUT calls so they do not have to follow-up as well as get off the phone as fast as possible.
For this officer to go over the head of the call center and go to an actual state paid employee, means he felt this was very very serious.

CPS needs a complete and total overhaul and audit nation wide.

Rest in Love little one

ETA the only time I have ever seen a child removed right then and there, was when it was so bad police called CPS and demanded the childrens removal. Oh god, she could have been saved...CPS once again dropped the ball and a child is dead because of it

 

[tlcya]

WSAZ Investigates | System to help vulnerable kids won’t be ready until 2026

 

[Mert]

https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/boone-county-wv/kyneddi-millers-mother-in-boone-county-court-for-emergency-hearing/

“Court officials said CPS acting on their own and interviewing Kyneddi’s mother and grandmother without their attorneys present was illegal and could hurt their rights to a fair trial.”

 

[tlcya]

https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/boone-county-wv/kyneddi-millers-mother-in-boone-county-court-for-emergency-hearing/

“Court officials said CPS acting on their own and interviewing Kyneddi’s mother and grandmother without their attorneys present was illegal and could hurt their rights to a fair trial.”

[facepalm] What on earth were the caseworkers thinking? Went to the jail to interview them to "close their case" on them AFTER they were charged, in jail and had legal counsel??? In a big hurry to talk to someone now that Kyneddi is dead, where was the rush when the child still could have been saved????

 

[Mert]

I wouldn’t be surprised if folks are intentionally trying to mess things up in order to hide failures. Even with what has already been exposed. It seems like there have been outlandish statements and excuses from many (all the way to the top) from state officials.

* My opinions

 

[GRT]

The mother appears slender in the earlier photo, so if the daughter developed an ED, I would guess it might have been due to the mother berating her over being too big. MOO

Sometimes, there is a disconnect in a parent-child bond, and this seems like a case in point. But not just that -- the grandmother. If she were a decent human being, she would have been in touch with CPS.

For some reason, I get the distinct feeling Kyneddi wasn't loved by anyone in that family.

The grandparents have also been arrested, but to look at their photos, I have to wonder if the grandfather is all there.

 

[GRT]

Do we know anything about the father?

 

[tlcya]

BOONE COUNTY, WV (WOWK) — The autopsy report has come back for 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller who was found dead on a bathroom floor “emaciated to a skeletal state,” according to Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Holstein.

Holstein announced the results had come back from the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office during a bond reduction request hearing Friday for Kyneddi’s mother, Julie Miller, who is charged in the case with child neglect resulting in death.

https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/boone-county-wv/kyneddi-miller-autopsy-report-in-bond-reduction-denied-again-for-mother/

 

[tlcya]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - About five months after the alleged starvation death of Boone County teenager Kyneddi Miller, the state Department of Human Services is still refusing to turn over records on the prior history of child abuse and neglect victims.

WSAZ Investigates | W.Va. DoHS denies child welfare records

All of our requests have been getting no answers from state officials.

www.wsaz.com

 

[AislingGray18]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - About five months after the alleged starvation death of Boone County teenager Kyneddi Miller, the state Department of Human Services is still refusing to turn over records on the prior history of child abuse and neglect victims.

WSAZ Investigates | W.Va. DoHS denies child welfare records

All of our requests have been getting no answers from state officials.

www.wsaz.com

The state is scrambling to Cover their Asses. This is so foul and disgusting. It actually makes me want to physically hurt someone. They knew. They knew and they didn't give a care about her.

I know I beat my drumb on this all the time but our nations CPS is dropping the ball left and right, and they are just as guilty in each one of these childrens deaths.
I cannot imagine what that officer is feeling.
That was really hard to read, they are covering things up, that is very clear since they are ignoring their own laws to release the info.

 

[Mert]

I won’t be surprised if they claim some garbage to greatly diminish the charges or even totally let the mother off the hook, just to cover their dirty hands in this.

* My opinions

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I hope the failures by CPS don't affect the criminal cases against Kyneddi's "family."

Kyneddi must have suffered extreme depression on top of everything else. Maybe she was so depressed about her isolation and lack of love, and lack of help from authorities, she was too traumatized to eat. But they may have stopped giving her much food anyway, just like the Lacey Fletcher case.

I wonder what else was going on in that house with her grandparents. I have strong speculations. Then she was left to literally starve to death.

At any time they could have pursued medical care, even after she lost a lot of weight. They could have claimed she was ill and it happened quickly but pursued care for her. They could have brought her to a hospital and then driven away. Anything but leaving her to die. They didn't care and knew suffering and death would be the outcome.
All IMO.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I'm not buying the "undiagnosed eating disorder" story one bit.

Doesn't sound very credible at all.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

During the bond reduction hearing, court records also showed Julie Miller had allegedly made statements in the past that her daughter had allegedly wanted to die. That information comes from a recorded phone conversation, which Holstein referenced in court. He said Julie Miller allegedly made comments during that phone call that wanted to die, so the mother let her daughter “do what she wanted to do.”
https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/boone-county-wv/timeline-kyneddi-miller-investigation/

She didn't try to get her any help? Who does that!?!

 

[tlcya]

She didn't try to get her any help? Who does that!?!

exactly, even if Kyneddie was starving herself (which I myself doubt), this mother had both an obligation and the means (Medicaid medical card) to seek medical intervention for her child and yet her attitude was, oh well, let her die if that's what she want - shrug. It boggles the mind.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

exactly, even if Kyneddie was starving herself (which I myself doubt), this mother had both an obligation and the means (Medicaid medical card) to seek medical intervention for her child and yet her attitude was, oh well, let her die if that's what she want - shrug. It boggles the mind.

I agree! And I doubt, too, that K was starving herself.

 

[Mert]

Three indicted in Boone County on charges connected to death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller

Three people were indicted Tuesday by a Boone County grand jury on charges connected to the apparent starvation death of a teenage girl.Julie Miller, Donna Ston

wchstv.com

“Julie Miller, Donna Stone and Jerry Stone are facing charges including murder by a parent, guardian or custodian by refusal or failure to provide necessities and child neglect resulting in death, according to Boone County prosecuting attorney Dan Holstein.”

 

[Mert]

Three family members indicted for Boone teen's death plead not guilty, trial date set

Three family members recently indicted on murder and other charges for the apparent starvation death of a teenage girl in Boone County pleaded not guilty.

wchstv.com

“Three family members recently indicted on murder and other charges for the apparent starvation death of a teenage girl in Boone County pleaded not guilty to all charges during an arraignment hearing Friday.”

“A pretrial hearing has been set for Nov. 22 in the case, which right now, will be tried together. Nowicki-Eldridge set the trial for Dec. 10.”