A Washington state couple has been sentenced after committing horrific acts against an eight-year-old girl, ultimately fleeing with her body in a U-Haul trailer over a thousand miles away.
Mandie Miller, 36, received a 32-year prison sentence for the murder of her adopted daughter and biological niece, Meela, which occurred in September 2022.
Miller and her boyfriend, Aleksander Kurmoyarov, 31, brutally abused the young girl, restraining her with zip ties and using a hammer to inflict pain on her toes as a form of punishment, according to a report by Law&Crime.
The couple further subjected Meela to extreme neglect by depriving her of necessary food and water, which led to her weighing just 26 pounds at the time of her death.
During the sentencing hearing, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Emily Sullivan highlighted the couple’s relentless abuse, stating, “They kept her restrained for hours on end, day after day, and their home surveillance system unknowingly captured them as they attacked Meela.” Sullivan further noted that the camera footage also revealed the couple using zip ties to bind Meela to a car seat.
‘And unbeknownst to them, their home camera system recorded them tying her to a car seat with zip ties to restrain her,’ the prosecutor added.
‘The facts before this court are undisputed. They did assault her, they did starve her, they did restrain her, they did torture her, and they did kill her.’
After Meela died, the couple lived with her lifeless body for three months because they ‘wanted to spend more time with her,’ police said at the time.
Meela Miller, 8, was tortured by her adopted mother Mandie Miller, and her boyfriend, until she died back in 2022
Miller, 36, and her boyfriend Aleksander Kurmoyarov, 31, starved the girl to death before driving over 1,000 miles with her corpse in a U-Haul
The couple rented a U-Haul truck in December, placed Meela’s body in a coffin inside it, and then drove nearly 1,100 miles to South Dakota.
After arriving in the state, they drove to a funeral home and requested to bury the coffin.
Funeral home staff became skeptical when the pair arrived with the coffin but had no proper death certificates for the child.
Staff contacted local police, who coordinated with authorities in the couple’s home state, obtained a search warrant, and established probable cause for their arrest.
Police initially charged the couple with failing to notify law enforcement of her death, before later hitting them with a slew of far more serious charges.
The twisted mother pleaded guilty back in January to assault, homicide by abuse, and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.
Andrea Miller, Meela’s biological mother, took the stand and delivered an emotional speech, saying she forgave the depraved couple for their vicious crimes.
‘I forgive you, and Jesus Christ loves you.’
And I pray this never happens to another child,’ she said.
Miller was slapped with a slew of charges and pleaded guilty in January 2025 to assault, homicide by abuse, and two counts of unlawful imprisonment
Kurmoyarov is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday as he also pleaded guilty to plethora of charges
Miller in court after she pleaded guilty in January 2026, before she was later sentenced for the heinous crimes
Kurmoyarov and his attorney sitting in court back in January 2023, he will be sentenced on Tuesday
At sentencing, Miller recounted her childhood in foster care while reading a statement that also touched on the brutal torture inflicted on Meela.
‘My daughter did not deserve any abuse or neglect from me,’ Miller admitted. ‘She most definitely didn’t deserve any abuse from Alex.’
Kurmoyarov escaped life in prison and pleaded guilty to murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
The boyfriend is expected to be sentenced on February 10.
