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Case #4802 Rating: 2.3 out of 5
Teen and dogs starved, boy dies
Schuylkill, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 1, 2005
County: Schuylkill
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available
Defendants/Suspects:
» Lyda Miller
» Janet Meshach
» Lori Shipps
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
First she was charged with starving her son to death. The boy weighed less than 70 pounds when he died in Florida in 2002. Now Lyda Miller is accused of starving the dogs she owns.
Miller, 41, and two other people were cited Monday with animal cruelty after police and officials with the Schuylkill County SPCA discovered five extremely malnourished dogs inside the home they shared in Kelayres, said Kline Township Police Chief John Petrilla.
Two of the animals were in such poor condition they had to be euthanized, Petrilla said. The other three are being nursed back to health by officials with the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA in Minersville.
Petrilla said he went to the home on June 1 after receiving an anonymous tip that animals were being neglected. Three of the dogs were owned by Miller and Michael Gozlan, 23, who were each cited with three counts of animal cruelty. Also cited with one count of animal cruelty were Janet Meshach, 66, the owner of one of the other dogs, and Lori Shipps, 44, the owner of the fifth dog. Each defendant was also cited for failing to have the dogs licensed.
Petrilla said the two dogs that were euthanized were the worst cases of malnourishment he had ever seen. The rib cages on the dogs, which were mixed breeds, were clearly visible through their fur.
The citations come 10 days shy of the second anniversary of Miller's guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 18-year-old son, Chester Miller. The teenager died at a Florida hospital on Sept. 25, 2002, from complications caused by extreme malnourishment, police stated.
Police said Lyda Miller failed to protect her son from her boyfriend, Paul Hoffman, whom police said beat the boy and refused to allow him to eat with the family, providing him only table scraps. Hoffman then placed the boy on a bus to find his father in Florida. He collapsed at the home of a stranger who attempted to help him. Chester died several days later at a hospital.
Lyda Miller served about one year of a one to nearly two year prison sentence and was released on July 8, 2003. Hoffman pleaded guilty in March 2004 to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
The animal cruelty citations against Miller and the others each carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in prison and a $750 fine. Petrilla said the defendants have 10 days to enter a guilty or not guilty plea to the citations.
Case UpdatesA woman who stood by silently as her boyfriend starved her 18-year-old learning disabled son to death in 2002 has been fined $1,200 for recently starving and neglecting several dogs.
Lyda Miller, 41, of 22 James St., Kline Township, was among four people township police cited for animal cruelty after officials went to the house in June in response to a complaint, officials said.
Police and workers from the Ruth Steinert SPCA in Minersville found six starving, unlicensed dogs -- two of which had to be euthanized, shelter Cruelty Officer Debbie Hawks said.
"The dogs were so starved that we had to put them down immediately," Hawks said. "The others' ribs were starting to show."
On Wednesday, police brought two more dogs found to be living at the house to the shelter, Hawks said.
"They are in horrible condition," Hawks said. "Their ribs are showing and their skulls are showing -- it's not good. But they are eating, so that's a good sign."
Two years ago, Miller pleaded guilty to her part in the starvation death of her son, Chester Miller.
Lyda Miller's boyfriend, Paul Hoffman, 39, fed the son only table scraps beginning with his 18th birthday in May 2002 until September 2002, when Hoffman bought the teen a bus ticket and sent him to look for his father in Milton, Fla.
The teen hadn't seen his father for a year.
Chester Miller died in Florida on Sept. 25, 2002, four days after he got there. He weighed 61 pounds when he was admitted to a hospital and died after his badly weakened stomach ruptured, officials said.
On June 23, 2003, Lyda Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, the lowest degree of homicide, and received a one- to two-year sentence. | Source: The Morning Call - July 6, 2005
Update posted on Jul 6, 2005 - 5:38PM |
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