West Virginia

West Virginia mom and grandparents indicted on murder charge in death of emaciated girl

Published

9 months ago

September 18, 2024

West Virginia mom and grandparents indicted on murder charge in death of emaciated girl

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.

Justice, a Republican, has called Miller’s death tragic and said she “fell through the cracks.”

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. Such referral requirements are now part of training at state police academy events, Abraham said.

Under state code, parents of homeschooled students are required to conduct annual academic assessments, but they 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, according to Abraham.

State Sen. Patricia Rucker, who is a Jefferson County Republican and a former public school teacher who homeschooled her five children, has said blaming homeschooling laws in the girl’s death “is misguided and injust, casting unwarranted aspersions on a population that overwhelmingly performs well.”

Rucker said the child protective services system is “overworked and underfunded” and state leaders “are resorting to blame-shifting and scapegoating homeschooling laws rather than addressing the real causes.”

House Democrats have pushed unsuccessfully for a bill that would pause or potentially deny a parent’s request to homeschool if a teacher has reported suspected child abuse: “Raylee’s Law” is named for an 8-year-old girl who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 after her parents withdrew her from school. Educators at her elementary school had notified Child Protective Services of potential abuse.

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Lotto America on June 7, 2025

Published

17 hours ago

June 8, 2025

Press Room

Are you looking to win big? The West Virginia Lottery offers a variety of games if you think it’s your lucky day.

Lottery players in West Virginia can choose from popular national games like the Powerball and Mega Millions, which are available in the vast majority of states. Other games include Lotto America, Daily 3, Daily 4 and Cash 25.

Big lottery wins around the U.S. include a lucky lottery ticketholder in California who won a $1.27 billion Mega Millions jackpot in December 2024. See more big winners here. And if you do end up cashing a jackpot, here’s what experts say to do first.

Here’s a look at Saturday, June 7, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 7 drawing

31-36-43-48-62, Powerball: 25, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from June 7 drawing

01-17-19-36-43, Star Ball: 03, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from June 7 drawing

5-0-0

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from June 7 drawing

2-3-9-3

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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West Virginia

ESPN FPI Gives West Virginia a Staggering 0.8% Playoff Chance

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Press Room

ESPN FPI Gives West Virginia a Staggering 0.8% Playoff Chance

Winning 10+ games in year one of Rich Rodriguez’s return to West Virginia is a tall task, especially given the schedule the Mountaineers have. Unfortunately, that’s likely the ballpark WVU needs to be in if they want an at-large bid in the College Football Playoff, assuming they don’t win the Big 12.

The chances of that happening? Slim to none, according to the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI).

West Virginia has just a 0.8% chance of making the playoffs, which is toward the bottom among Power Four teams. Only Mississippi State, Arizona, Stanford, Syracuse, Houston, Northwestern, Wake Forest, and Purdue have worse odds of making it.

Anyone who is expecting WVU to crash the college football playoff party this season may want to rethink their assessment of the team. Yes, Curt Cignetti did it in year one at Indiana a year ago, but he had the benefit of playing just one ranked opponent all season. Rich Rod won’t get that lucky.

Rodriguez knows it’ll be an uphill battle in 2025, but that doesn’t mean he’s altered his main goals.

“If we’re not in contention in November for the conference championship, then I think it’s not a good year,” he told the ESPN College GameDay crew. “Every year, our first goal is to win the league. Now, if you win the league, you’re going to be in the playoff. I saw Arizona State do it last year, and I know it was in Kenny (Dillingham’s) second year, but they went from down the bottom to the top. Now, can we do that in one year, not two years? That’s a harder ask to do, but certainly that’ll be our focus.”

West Virginia

Air quality alert lifted in West Virginia

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2025

Press Room

Air quality alert lifted in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Wildfires burning in Canada affected the air quality in much of the United States.

“Until 2023, wildfires hadn’t been as much of an issue in West Virginia or even generally on the East Coast as we’re seeing now in 2025,” said Renu Chakrabarty, assistant director, air monitoring & air toxics for the West Virginia EPA. “We’re seeing another round of wildfires coming through and impacts from wildfires.”

Smoke made its way into our region — triggering an air quality alert on Thursday.

“We just wanted to make sure that folks who may have some health sensitivities–children, elderly, heart or lung conditions — were aware of what was going on so they could take precautions if they thought it was warranted,” Chakrabarty said.

The EPA has different time averaging periods for different pollutants.

In this case, particulate matter is what led to the haze.

The Air Quality Index monitored by the EPA looks at the hourly data for the pollutant.

“We were concerned that some of the hours in the day maybe go over the standard on an hourly basis,” Chakrabarty said. “We actually did not see that. We did come close.”

The West Virginia APA also checks data and forecasts from the National Weather Service to better inform what they see on their own monitors.

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