MORRISVALE, W.Va. — A Boone County woman is behind bars charged in connection with the death of her teenage daughter.
Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker said deputies were dispatched to a home in the Morrisvale community Wednesday to investigate a reported death. When deputies arrived they found the body of a 14-year-old girl on the bathroom floor. Investigators described the girl’s body as “emaciated to a skeletal state.”
Authorities arrested Julie Anne Stone Miller, 49, of Morrisvale. She’s charged with felony child neglect causing death.
A criminal complaint filed in Boone County Magistrate Court described the details of the discovery of the victim identified in court records at “K.M.”
Chief Deputy Mark Abbot wrote in the court document they interviewed the victim’s grandmother who said the girl had an eating disorder which dated back for several years and had not been eating in the last four to five months. She further told investigators the child’s health had been in decline for months or years and in the past four to five days her physical condition had become so bad she was unable to function on her own.
“K.M.’s physical appearance was shocking with an obvious emaciated, skeletal state,” read the complaint.
The grandmother also said, according to investigators, the teen had not attended school since late 2019 or 2020 and hadn’t been outside the house more than a couple of time in the last four 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. “It is believed this neglect caused the death of K.M., a 14-year-old child.”
Miller is lodged in the Southwestern Regional Jail on $250,000.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and there could be additional charges.
The girl’s body was scheduled for an autopsy Thursday at the state Medical Examiner’s Office.