Update: 1/20/2016 1:47 P.M. Miller has been apprehended and is no longer being sought, thank you all for your assistance.
A Pevely man has been charged in connection with the death of his 5-month-old daughter in February 2015.
James William Miller, 36, was charged Thursday (Jan. 7) with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, a class A felony.
Jefferson County Div. 11 associate Judge Brenda Stacey set Miller’s bond at $500,000 cash only, but as of this afternoon (Jan. 11), he had not been taken into custody, authorities reported.
The baby, Mya Miller, died Feb. 27 at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, court records show.
Pevely Police got a call at about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 23 about a baby in the 800 block of Larkin Drive having difficulty breathing. She was taken to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where she later died.
Physicians there discovered the baby had numerous broken ribs in various stages of healing, according to the probable-cause statement.
Miller told authorities he was the only one caring for the baby at the time her physical problems started and, before that time, she showed no signs of illness, the statement said.
An autopsy indicated the most significant injury to the baby was “bleeding in the head with no reasonable account of how it happened and a pattern consistent with inflicted injuries,” the report said.
In addition, the examining physician, Dr. Michael Graham, “discredits the statement by James that Mya was OK and her health gradually declined,” according to the report.
At the time of the baby’s death, Pevely Police reported that her mother was not at home when emergency responders got the call Feb. 23 about the baby having trouble breathing.
Children’s Division removed the baby’s brother, 17 months old at the time, from the home, Pevely Police reported at the time.
A class A felony is punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison.
By Kevin Carbery
Credit: Jefferson County Leader Publications