Court to review documents sent to Boone County prosecutor

UPDATE: (1:37 P.M. Wednesday, June 12): West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s Chief of Staff Brian Abraham says the Boone County Court will look over documents the DoHS general counsel sent to Prosecutor Daniel Holstein to make sure there is nothing in them he is not supposed to have.

Abraham says he spoke with both attorneys and the judge Tuesday, and they came to an agreement that the documents would be turned over to the court. The court would then make sure the documents were properly distributed. Abraham also said that although providing the material is protocol, Holstein made the right decision to be cautious and check to make sure there wasn’t any information he was not supposed to have before opening the files.

As far as if the State is in contempt, Abraham says they are not even parties to the criminal cases against Julie Miller and Donna and Jerry Stone.

During Governor Justice’s semi-regular press briefing, Abraham said he had not been aware that the DoHS attorney had allegedly not been responding to Holstein’s questions regarding the documents. He says the office will look into this allegation.

BOONE COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A prosecutor is asking a Boone County judge to hold a review hearing to determine if state officials were in contempt of court regarding the case surrounding 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller’s death.

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Holstein filed the motion on Monday, June 10 to request the review hearing to “enforce court order or in the alternative to issue a rule to show cause and schedule proceedings in contempt.”

The motion refers to a court order issued on June 5, 2024, that was directed at the Governor’s Office and the West Virginia Department of Human Services for “the production of certain materials” contained in an email sent to Holstein.

That court order was issued after accusations that a CPS worker went into the South Central Regional Jail to question Miller. Her attorneys claimed the worker said they were Miller’s attorney, but state officials said on June 6, that while visiting Miller in jail was a “stupid” decision, they had just gone to close out the investigatory file on this case.

Judge Stacy Nowicki-Eldridge ordered that any communication to Miller must go through her attorneys and not her directly, and if it happens again, there will be criminal prosecution. Nowicki-Eldridge also ordered the press conference state officials scheduled for June 6 could go on, but they could not mention any information obtained by the CPS worker during the interview with Miller.

According to the motion, the DoHS sent Holstein an email containing six documents that he says may include statements made by Julie Miller, Kyneddi’s mother, and Jerry and Donna Stone, Kyneddi’s grandparents, without their attorney present. All three are charged with child neglect resulting in death after Kyneddi was found dead in an emaciated state in her Morrisvale home on April 17.

Due to the possibility those statements may be in the documents, Holstein says he has not opened them, according to the motion.

The motion claims in sending the email, the DoHS did the opposite of what the court ordered. According to the motion, the DoHS was allowed to release their report to Holstein, but not any statements made by Miller or the Stones. Holstein requested this order as a way to avoid tainting the criminal investigation. He says the DoHS’s email violated the order.

In the event of non-compliance by the governor’s office and DoHS, the motion states that Holstein’s office would request a “Rule to Show Cause” against the appropriate people as to why they would be held in contempt of court. He is also asking for an in-camera review of the items emailed to him.

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