Insets: Mandie Miller and Aleksander Kurmoyarov (Davison County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Meela Miller (KREM).
A heart-wrenching case in Washington State has concluded with a 36-year-old woman receiving a 32-year prison sentence for the horrific abuse and subsequent death of her 8-year-old adopted daughter, who was also her biological niece. Authorities revealed that Mandie Miller and her 31-year-old boyfriend, Aleksander Kurmoyarov, subjected young Meela Miller to severe mistreatment, binding her with zip ties and crushing her toes with a hammer as punishment. Tragically, Meela succumbed to abuse and starvation, weighing only 26 pounds at the time of her death.
The couple shockingly cohabitated with Meela’s body for three months following her death in September 2022, citing a desire to “spend more time with her.” In December of the same year, they transported Meela’s remains in a rented U-Haul, traveling approximately 1,100 miles from Spokane to Mitchell, South Dakota, where they sought burial arrangements at a funeral home. However, their lack of proper documentation regarding Meela’s death raised suspicions, prompting funeral home staff to alert the authorities.
The couple faced initial charges in South Dakota for failing to report the death of a child to law enforcement. Subsequently, they were extradited back to Washington to address more serious accusations. On Friday, the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Miller’s sentence after she pleaded guilty to charges including homicide by abuse, child assault, and two counts of unlawful imprisonment. Kurmoyarov, who has admitted guilt to murder, assault, and unlawful imprisonment charges, is scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday.
During the sentencing, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Emily Sullivan recounted the appalling details of Meela’s abuse, as revealed by home surveillance footage. Sullivan stated, “She was restrained for hours on end, day after day. Unbeknownst to them, their home camera system captured them assaulting Meela and tying her to a car seat with zip ties to restrain her.” Sullivan emphasized the indisputable nature of the evidence, asserting, “They did assault her, they did starve her, they did restrain her, they did torture her, and they did kill her.”
In a poignant moment during the proceedings, Meela’s biological mother, Andrea Miller, addressed her sister, Mandie, reflecting the emotional weight of the case.
Meela’s biological mother Andrea Miller addressed her sister at sentencing.
“You did this with no remorse, murdering my third child, my beautiful daughter, Meela Rose Miller,” Andrea Miller told her sister. “Named after our sister, Amelia Rose Miller, my best friend, my sister and auntie to my children, a Marine who died in 2013 at 23.”
Despite the horrible death her daughter suffered, Andrea Miller said she forgave her sister.
Judge Rachelle Anderson admonished the defendant before sentencing her to two years above what prosecutors had recommended.
“We’re here because a little girl was tortured, she was starved, her interests were not protected,” Anderson reportedly said. “And as a parent, this is the worst crime a person can commit against their own child, their adopted child, their own family member.”
Mandie Miller reportedly told the court about her rough childhood in foster care and only briefly addressed her terrible misdeeds.
“My daughter did not deserve any abuse or neglect from me,” she said, per KREM. “She most definitely didn’t deserve any abuse from Alex.”
