The Murder of Meela Miller

Meela Miller weighed 26 pounds at the time investigators found her body in December 2022. A healthy 8-year-old girl typically weighs between 45 and 60 pounds. She had been progressively starved; food was restricted over time until she was given only water. She became so weak and frail that she died.

The autopsy physician noted lesions on Meela's wrists and both ankles consistent with being tied up over an extended period. She was clearly malnourished. These findings directly corroborated Kurmoyarov's admissions about the nature and duration of the restraint and food restriction.

The couple's own home security camera system recorded the abuse without their apparent knowledge. Footage showed Meela being restrained in a car seat with zip ties for extended periods. It showed the couple physically assaulting her. This footage was cited directly by the prosecution at sentencing.

Deputy Prosecutor Emily Sullivan stated: unbeknownst to them, their home camera system recorded them assaulting Meela, and unbeknownst to them, their home camera system recorded them tying her to a car seat with zip ties to restrain her. The footage provided direct evidence of what the autopsy confirmed.

Kurmoyarov's detailed admissions described the restraint methods used. Meela was tied in a bathrobe fashioned like a straitjacket for four to six hours at a time. She was restrained in a car seat with zip ties for progressively longer periods, eventually being released only to be bathed and have her clothes changed.

Meela was struck on the toes with a hammer when she was deemed to have misbehaved. Kurmoyarov admitted slapping her on the day she died. He stated Mandie Miller was in charge of punishment and that he participated at her direction. Court records describe Mandie as becoming increasingly controlling over time.

After Meela died, the couple kept her body in the home for approximately a week before placing it in a plastic storage tote. In December 2022, three months after her death, they placed her body in a casket, rented a U-Haul, and drove approximately 1,100 miles from Spokane to Mitchell, South Dakota.

They packed powdered laundry detergent into the casket and surrounding bedding to mask the odor of decomposition. They intended to bury her without proper documentation. A funeral home called police when they could not produce a death certificate. Investigators described Meela's body as appearing small and malnourished.

At least twelve calls were made to Cheney Police, Airway Heights Police and CPS by neighbors and school employees raising concerns about Meela. CPS received four calls between February and August 2022 and screened all out as not meeting the legal definition of abuse. A school counselor and police officer knocked on the door when Meela had been absent from school for nearly two months. The family did not answer. They left.

A welfare check in August 2022 allowed an officer inside; he saw a child-sized shape breathing under blankets and left after Mandie explained she was homeschooling. Meela died less than two months later. Attorney Craig Mason stated that police did not have enough cause to break down the door. Because the family stayed behind the door, no one could gather any additional information.

Miller and Kurmoyarov gave conflicting and changing accounts from their first police interviews. Miller claimed Meela died on September 10 after choking on a strawberry milkshake; she said she did not call 911 because the ambulance would take too long. Kurmoyarov told Mitchell police she died on Halloween. In a separate interview, he never mentioned the milkshake and said only that she was sick.

Investigators noted Kurmoyarov kept changing his story. The conflicting accounts, combined with the physical evidence and home security footage, left both defendants with no credible defense. Both ultimately entered guilty pleas. Their cooperation, while limited and self-serving, contributed to the strength of the final record.