Julie Miller: Kentucky mom charged with child neglect after 14-year-old daughter who hadn't eaten in months is found dead in bathroom
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BOONE COUNTY, KENTUCKY: A mother in Boone County has been charged with child neglect causing death after her daughter was found "emaciated to a skeletal state" on Wednesday, April 17, in the morning, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
Julie Anne Stone Miller, 49, of Morrisvale, was taken into custody and checked into the Southwestern Regional Jail on Wednesday night, according to Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker.
Emaciated body discovered on a foam pad in the bathroom
Deputies were called to a death scene in Morrisvale, which is situated in the 400 block of Cameo Road, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Boone County Magistrate Court, WCHS reported.
When deputies got to the house, they discovered the girl—who went by only her initials, K.M.—on a foam pad and on the bathroom floor. "K.M.'s body was emaciated to a skeletal state," Chief Deputy Mark Abbott wrote in the court document.
Abbott said that as part of the inquiry, the girl's grandmother was questioned.
The girl's grandmother reported to deputies that she had not gone to school since late 2019 or early 2020 and that she had perhaps only left the house twice in the previous four years.
She had an eating disorder for many years, and the complaint also mentioned that her "appearance was shocking with an obvious emaciated, skeletal state."
K.M. died after being undernourished for months
The complaint also states that K.M.'s grandmother informed deputies that the child had not eaten in months and was in a physical state that prevented her from functioning on her own for four to five days.
Her health is said to have been declining for months or even years.
"With the overwhelmingly visible conditions of K.M.'s body and the clear and distinct physical problems, Miller failed to obtain any medical treatment for K.M. for at least the last four years," Abbott wrote.
The text further read, "It is believed this neglect caused the death of K.M., a 14-year-old child."
Abbott informed Eyewitness News that while the investigation is ongoing, more arrests in this case may be made. The body of the teenager was delivered to the office of the medical examiner so that an autopsy could be performed on Thursday, April 18.
