A Central Florida mother was arrested at an airport after leaving her four young children unattended at their Kissimmee home for multiple days while she was away on a work trip in Las Vegas, law enforcement authorities announced.
Deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office took 50-year-old Irene Miller into custody on Friday morning, Oct. 23, immediately after she stepped off an airplane at Orlando International Airport. Miller was booked into the Orange County Jail and charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, according to sheriff’s records.
Injury prompted emergency call
Deputies were alerted to the unattended household on the evening of Oct. 21, when one of the children called 911 shortly after 8:30 p.m. to report that a dumbbell had fallen onto the head of her 9-year-old brother, officials said. When emergency personnel arrived at the residence, they discovered four siblings, ages 14, 12, 11 and 9, completely unsupervised with no adults present.
The injured 9-year-old boy was taken by paramedics to a local hospital for evaluation, treated for what authorities described as minor injuries, and subsequently released, according to sheriff’s officials.
Investigators reached Miller by phone and learned she had departed Florida on Oct. 18 for a photography assignment in Las Vegas, leaving the children alone overnight across multiple days, according to an incident report cited by NBC News. Miller told deputies that a babysitter commuted from Tampa, located roughly 70 miles west, to help prepare the children for school in the mornings and check on them in the afternoons. However, Miller acknowledged that the sitter was never required or instructed to remain overnight.
“The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office will not tolerate child neglect,” Osceola County Sheriff Chris Blackmon said in a statement. “These cases will be investigated, and charges will be brought against the parents who are not properly supervising or caring for their children.”
Legal questions and family dynamics
Each of the third-degree felony neglect charges filed against Miller carries a potential maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, which could expose her to up to 20 years behind bars, the New York Post reported.
Florida statutes do not specify a minimum legal age at which a minor may be left home alone. Instead, state law evaluates whether a guardian willfully failed to supply necessary supervision, care or protection from injury, legal analysts noted to the New York Post. Meanwhile, federal recommendations suggest children under 12 should not be left unattended and minors under 15 should not supervise younger siblings.
Following Miller’s arrest, the four children were placed in the custody of their father, 53-year-old Mark Miller, who agreed to take them into his care on Friday, authorities said. The couple has been involved in divorce proceedings, according to court documents reviewed by the New York Post. Mark Miller was previously charged with criminal battery in August after allegedly striking a phone from his wife’s hand outside the children’s school, which resulted in a restraining order requiring judicial approval for contact with the children.
What happens next
Irene Miller was released from custody on Saturday after posting a $4,000 surety bond, jail records showed. Her next court appearance has not yet been scheduled, and the Florida Department of Children and Families is expected to review the children’s welfare and custody arrangements.
