Court documents detail alleged injuries and abuse in death of 9-year-old boy

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FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WPTA) – The woman accused of criminal activity leading to the death of a 9-year-old boy in her home made her first court appearance on Wednesday morning, and documents filed in the case offer further glimpse into what happened.

Alesha Miller – described as the boy’s stepmother – faces three counts of dependent neglect (one of them with the stipulation that the neglect resulted in death) and one count of battery and personal injury aggravated. All four counts are felonies.

Miller, 30, was arrested on Tuesday. That evening, dozens of people took part in a memorial held outside Elijah’s house on Putnam Street.

Police said the investigation showed Miller drove to the Lutheran hospital early in the morning of Saturday, December 18, with Elijah in the back seat of his SUV. The boy’s mother, Jenna Miller, was also in the vehicle, according to the probable cause affidavit. The boy is described as “cold and limp … and rigor mortis was starting to take hold in his body, according to medical staff.”

The documents report bruises on Elijah’s arms and face, “major bruises” on the lower back and buttocks and a “small cut / laceration at the base of the victim’s penis”.

Elijah died at 2:09 am – less than an hour after arriving. The coroner determined that he had suffered serious “blunt injuries”.

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Officers spoke to Alesha Miller and recorded the interview, and that she claimed a fight involving Elijah and her brothers broke out while the parents were at a Christmas party. She reportedly said the fight had escalated, with an older brother pushing Elijah into a library. Shortly after, Alesha Miller said, “She administered CPR to the victim and he threw up ‘brown stuff’. She said she had turned it on her side and more “brown stuff” came out. “

The affidavit says that was when they went to the hospital.

“She said the victim had gone limp and they thought he was playing dead.”

At the family’s home, police recovered items, including a leather belt and “a large wooden paddle” as evidence. The paddle handle had been broken off, they said, “and there was (a) a serrated, almost knife-like end.”

Alesha Miller was questioned again on Monday and, according to police, said she “hit the victim on the buttocks with a belt three times three times” and took further disciplinary action. The affidavit states that Alesha Miller once used water to “resuscitate” Elijah.

Detectives also spoke with Jenna Miller on several occasions, and said she explained to them that “Alesha is the one who keeps screaming” Elijah. The affidavit continues:

She said that when they returned home (from the party), a witness and the victim were still fighting. She said after the boys stopped fighting, Alesha started booing the victim with a wooden paddle that had an inscription on it and the handle had been broken. She stated that the said defendant was holding the victim with his legs and that she repeatedly hit him. She said the victim had gone limp and they thought he was playing dead. She said the boos would start and stop. She said the said defendant said: “She can’t stop because he wants her dead”.

The court has set a hearing for Alesha Miller for December 29. Jenna Miller has not been charged.

The Allen County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy revealed the 9-year-old boy who was pronounced dead over the weekend had multiple blunt injuries. (Elijah’s grandmother, Mindi Hemminger) (WPTA) (WPTA) (WPTA)

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