Julie Miller, West Virginia mom sentenced to life in child neglect death of teen daughter, Kyneddi Miller and how state child welfare services meant to protect Boone County girl failed the teen.
A preventable death… A West Virginia mother who admitted contributing to the emaciation death of her 14-year-old daughter was on Wednesday sentenced to life behind bars, and eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 15 years behind bars. The case has since led to scrutiny of the child welfare system.
Julie Miller, 51, was sentenced Wednesday morning as a judge handed the mom jail time while appearing at Boone County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Stacy Nowicki-Eldridge ruled that if Miller is later deemed eligible for parole, it would be with 50 years of supervision.
West Virginia mother fails her teen daughter
A criminal complaint said that the 14-year-old girl had an eating disorder and that Julie Miller had not sought medical care for her daughter in at least four years. Boone County Prosecutor Dan Holstein said Kyneddi Miller spent the last several days of her life alone on a bathroom floor and weighed 58 pounds (26 kilograms).
A healthy weight for a 14-year-old girl typically ranges between 84 and 160 pounds (approx. 38–72 kg), contingent on height and frame.
Miller’s sentencing comes after the mom pleaded guilty in November to the death of a child by parent, guardian, or custodian.
During sentencing, Judge Nowicki-Eldridge who had seen emaciated photos of the teen girl stated the circumstances behind the girl’s ’starvation death’ were ‘beyond her comprehension,’ KPLC-TV reported.
‘This child literally starved to death,’ she said. ‘No child should ever have to go through that. This child deserved a mother who provided at the bare minimum enough food that her body didn’t eat itself.’
Horror scene at family’s Boone County residence
Deputies were dispatched to a home in the Morrisvale area of Boone County on April 17, 2024, in relation to the cardiac arrest of Kyneddi Miller. Her body was found in a skeletal state, according to deputies.
Deputies said the teen girl appeared to have not had any medical treatment in at least four years.
A criminal investigation uncovered that the teen had not attended school since late 2019 or early 2020. She had only been outside the house roughly two times in four years and had not eaten in months. According to the girl’s mom, the teen was being ‘home-schooled.’
Deputies described the teen’s appearance as ‘shocking.’
The family told deputies the child suffered from an eating disorder.
Kyneddi Miller’s grandparents, Jerry Stone and Donna Stone, were also arrested in May of 2024 and charged with child neglect resulting in death.
According to the criminal complaint, Jerry and Donna Stone lived inside the home in Morrisvale with the teen and her mother.
Julie Miller, Jerry and Donna Stone were indicted by a grand jury in September of 2024 for murder by parent, guardian, or custodian by failure or refusal to provide necessities, and child neglect resulting in death.
Donna Stone’s trial date is scheduled for March 17, with Jerry Stone being found incompetent to stand trial.
Julie Miller spoke at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, expressing remorse.
How West Virginia child welfare system let down a 14-year-old girl
The teen’s death has since led to heightened scrutiny of the state’s overwhelmed child welfare system and state services meant to protect children.
A federal audit released in November that was prompted by the girl’s death found the state didn’t comply with requirements for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect, including failing in most cases to interview children or adults or assess immediate safety risks.
The death also prompted a state investigation into whether law enforcement and child protective services could have intervened. The state Department of Human Services now requires potential abuse and neglect cases to be referred to an intake telephone number so they can be formally documented.
Under state code, parents of homeschooled students are required to conduct annual academic assessments but only have to submit them to the state after the third, fifth, eighth and 11th grades. Failure to report assessments can result in a child being terminated from the homeschool program and a county taking truancy action.
State records indicate the mother never turned in the required assessments for her daughter, local media reported.
