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‘Heinous acts’: Airway Heights woman sentenced to 32 years for abusing 8-year-old daughter to death

Aleksandr Kurmoyarov and Mandie Miller. (Courtesy of Airway Heights Police Department)
By Alexandra Duggan alexandrad@spokesman.com(509) 459-5469

An Airway Heights woman will spend more than 30 years in prison for the abuse and killing of her 8-year-old adopted daughter Meela Miller.

Mandie Miller and her boyfriend, Aleksandr Kurmoyarov, were arrested in 2022 in South Dakota after they transported Meela Miller’s body from Airway Heights to the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation where, according to court documents, they intended to bury her.

Prior to her death, the two abused Meela Miller for long periods by restraining her, beating her and starving her, court records say. She became so weak and frail she eventually died in 2022 at the couple’s home in Airway Heights.

Meela Miller, shown here in a restaurant on a birthday, died late in 2022. Her mother, Mandie Miller, and Miller's boyfriend, Aleksandr Kurmoyarov, pleaded guilty to killing 8-year-old Meela.  (Photo courtesy of Daniel Herrera)
Meela Miller, shown here in a restaurant on a birthday, died late in 2022. Her mother, Mandie Miller, and Miller’s boyfriend, Aleksandr Kurmoyarov, pleaded guilty to killing 8-year-old Meela.  (Photo courtesy of Daniel Herrera)

They put Meela’s body in a U-Haul, drove to the home of Miller’s mother in South Dakota and attempted to contact a funeral home. They were arrested after a coroner called police over the couple’s suspicious behavior, court records say.

Miller pleaded guilty last month to homicide by abuse, second-degree child assault and two counts of unlawful imprisonment in Meela’s death. Miller accepted a 30-year prison sentence at the time of her plea, according to previous reporting by The Spokesman-Review.

Kurmoyarov is expected to face sentencing on Feb. 10. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree assault and three counts of unlawful imprisonment for his involvement in Meela’s death, and also agreed to testify against Miller.

“My little niece, who we had hosted in our home less than two years earlier, was gone, found in a U-Haul,” Mandie Miller’s brother, Elijah Miller, said at her sentencing Friday. “My niece was dead, and the people responsible were individuals I never believed capable of such heinous acts.”

Elijah Miller said that Meela is remembered as a kind, wonderful child, who was innocent in a way he’s only seen in “kittens and puppies.”

“Above all else, she was one of my beautiful nieces. All of that has been taken from us. I will never again hear Meela’s laughter, answer her curious questions or see her bright, beautiful smile,” he said.

Other family members spoke at Miller’s sentencing, like Meela’s grandmother and biological mother. Mandie Miller was Meela’s biological aunt and adopted her.

Mandie Miller also chose to give a statement. She said she grew up in an abusive family and that Meela “repurposed” her life. Meela loved mermaids, shopping, dolls, chalk and drawing, Mandie Miller said.

“I have to wake up every day remembering she’s passed away. Earth is hell for me,” Mandie Miller told the court. “My daughter did not deserve any abuse or neglect from me, and she most definitely didn’t deserve any abuse from Alex. … It’s hell to be reliving this. I want to grieve my daughter too.”