Mother booked after five-day gap left Kissimmee children alone

Irene Miller stepped off a plane in Orlando on Friday morning to find deputies waiting for her. The 50-year-old Kissimmee resident was handcuffed in the terminal and transported to the Orange County Jail on four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.

The arrest followed a 911 call placed by one of Miller’s children on Wednesday. The caller reported that a dumbbell had fallen on the head of her nine-year-old brother. Deputies arrived at the family home shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 and found four children, ages 9, 11, 12, and 14, with no adults present.

Fire rescue crews transported the injured boy to Celebration Hospital, where he was treated and discharged. A deputy contacted Miller by phone while she was working in Las Vegas. She stated she had left Florida on Oct. 18 and planned to return on Oct. 23.

Miller told investigators she had hired a babysitter to travel from Tampa in the mornings to help the children prepare for school. The sheriff’s office noted that the sitter was not required to stay overnight. Authorities contacted the children’s father, who agreed to take custody of all four children while detectives coordinated the arrest.

Sheriff Chris Blackmon said the department would not tolerate child neglect. He stated that cases involving parents who are not properly supervising their children will be investigated and charged.