Grandma accused of only letting 14-year-old leave the house 2 times in 4 years before she starved to death faces jury

The proceedings of a 78-year-old West Virginia grandma accused of starving and neglecting her 14-year-old granddaughter to decease began Wednesday, astir 2 years aft authorities recovered the teen "emaciated" and successful a "skeletal state" wrong the family's home, with authorities saying she had been dormant for respective days.

Donna Stone is facing charges of execution by a parent, guardian oregon custodian by refusal oregon nonaccomplishment to supply necessities and kid neglect resulting successful decease successful transportation with the decease of Kyneddi Miller, tribunal records show.

Following opening statements successful Boone County Circuit Court, prosecutors called Sheriff Chad Barker to attest arsenic the state's archetypal witness, Huntington, West Virginia-based NBC affiliate WSAZ reported. Less than an hr into his testimony, the sheriff relayed his recollection of what happened erstwhile helium archetypal entered the location wherever Kyneddi's assemblage was found.

Stone's proceedings had antecedently been scheduled for March 17 and July 21, but some dates were postponed.

As Law&Crime previously reported, Julie Ann Miller, Stone's girl and Kyneddi's mother, pleaded blameworthy successful November 2025 to 1 number of decease of a kid caused by a parent, guardian oregon custodian. In February, Boone County Circuit Judge Stacy Nowicki-Eldridge sentenced her to 15 years to beingness successful a authorities correctional facility. Miller could go eligible for parole aft 15 years but would beryllium required to service an further 50 years of supervised release.

Stone's husband, Jerry Stone, was besides charged successful Kyneddi's death. However, a justice recovered him incompetent to basal proceedings successful August 2025 and helium was committed to a authorities intelligence hospital.

During Miller's sentencing hearing, Nowicki-Eldridge excoriated the adults successful Kyneddi's beingness for their failures to support her harmless and healthy.

"This kid virtually starved to death," she said. "No kid should ever person to spell done that."

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Holstein likewise said it was unimaginable to him however Miller could fto her kid wither distant similar that.

"As a begetter with my ain children, and present grandchildren, I cannot ideate however idiosyncratic gets to the constituent that you let your kid to get similar that, truthful emaciated, and you don't adjacent fuss to get help," he said. "You conscionable fto them die."

The lawsuit began erstwhile deputies with the Boone County Sheriff's Office and paramedics responded connected April 17, 2024, to a telephone astir a juvenile pistillate successful cardiac apprehension astatine a location successful the 400 artifact of Cameo Road successful Morrisvale. Kyneddi lived successful the location with her mother, grandma and grandfather, Jerry Stone.

Responders recovered Kyneddi lying motionless connected a foam pad connected a bath floor. She was pronounced dormant astatine the scene. The sheriff's bureau said the child's quality was "shocking," with "an evident emaciated, skeletal state."

Kyneddi reportedly weighed conscionable 58 pounds erstwhile she died.

In an interrogation with constabulary investigators, Donna Stone reportedly confirmed that Kyneddi had not attended schoolhouse for astir 4 oregon 5 years. Authorities besides noted that the grandma said she believed Kyneddi had lone near the Cameo Road location and gone extracurricular doubly successful the past 4 years.

Investigators said Miller began homeschooling her girl successful February 2021, supposedly for aesculapian reasons. An email obtained by authorities reportedly showed that Miller told officials with the Boone County School District that, due to the fact that they lived with Kyneddi's aged grandparents, they were acrophobic astir the kid contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to Donna and Jerry Stone.

Donna Stone allegedly told investigators that Kyneddi had an eating upset and was not susceptible of functioning connected her ain for respective days earlier her death. The grandma besides said she did not judge Kyneddi had seen a doc successful astir 4 oregon 5 years.