Grandfather of ’emaciated’ WV teen found incompetent to stand trial; trial set for mom, grandmother

MADISON, W.Va. (WOWK) — The grandfather of a girl found dead in an emaciated state last year has been found incompetent to stand trial.

At a hearing for Julie Miller and her parents, Donna Stone and Jerry Stone on Sept. 26, the court received the results of a mental evaluation for Jerry Stone, which was requested in May 2024. The judge ruled that he is not competent to stand trial in the April 2024 death of his granddaughter, 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller.

Kyneddi’s mother, Julie Miller, and grandmother, Donna Stone, however, will stand trial at the end of the year. The judge set the trial for Dec. 2.

At Friday’s motions hearing, Jerry Stone was not present, but there was no word on whether or not he was in custody. Donna Stone was late for the hearing, and a judge ordered a capias for her arrest, but she later showed up.

The original interview with Donna Stone was also played at the hearing. At that time, she was not under arrest or even a suspect in Kynnedi’s death.

Miller and the Stones were all charged with murder by a parent, guardian or custodian by failure to provide necessities and of child neglect resulting in death. They all pleaded not guilty to those charges in October.

The next pretrial hearing in the case will be at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14.

Kyneddi Miller was found dead in a Boone County home in April 2024, in what was described as an “emaciated skeletal state.”

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Holstein said in August 2024 that Kyneddi had been on the floor where she was found dead for four to five days. He went on to say that describing her state as “emaciated” was not an exaggeration.

A close family member told law enforcement that Kyneddi had an eating disorder and had not been eating for months, according to the criminal complaint. It said she was unable to function on her own for almost a week due to her physical state.

Kyneddi’s death also led to several questions regarding Child Protective Services in West Virginia regarding how her case slipped through the cracks. Kyneddi was homeschooled and her paperwork was not up-to-date, raising questions as to whether keeping up with her assessments could have prevented the situation.

West Virginia State Police said a trooper who went to the home for a welfare check on Kyneddi in 2023 made a recommendation for CPS to have someone talk to her about her fears of COVID-19, although at the time, he said she was physically okay. The trooper said he went to the office in person, but the CPS office did not have a record of that conversation. Then-Governor Jim Justice’s Office said they believed the trooper, and he was even heard on an audio recording saying he would be referring Kyneddi to CPS. This led to state officials tightening protocol for reporting abuse and neglect to help ensure no other children slip through the cracks and that they get the help they need.