A Florida mother who left her children alone for five days while traveling to Las Vegas for work declined to return home after learning that her youngest child had been hospitalized, the Daily Mail has learned.
Irene Miller, 50, was arrested Friday at Orlando International Airport on child neglect charges. According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, she had left her four children, ages nine, 11, 12 and 14, unsupervised at the family’s condo in Kissimmee.
The nine-year-old boy was taken to a hospital Wednesday with a head laceration after his older sister called 911 and reported that a dumbbell had fallen on him, police said.
When officers called Miller about the accident, the Russian-born photographer told them she was in Las Vegas until Friday and “couldn’t come home,” Captain Kim Montes of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily Mail.
Authorities then contacted the children’s father, Mark Miller, who had not known that his estranged wife had left the children alone. The four siblings were placed in his care, Montes said.
“The kids were ecstatic to see him,” Montes added.
The children are now staying with Mark, 53, in a single-room motel. He described himself as their “unexpected sole caregiver” in a GoFundMe campaign seeking $5,000 to support the family.
“I’m now caring for all four children, and the five of us are living in a motel room,” he wrote in a Facebook post promoting the fundraiser.
Irene Miller, pictured with two of three of her four children, and her estranged husband, Mark, have been married for 15 years but have spent the past two years navigating a divorce
Miller, 50, was taken into custody by Osceola County Sheriff’s Office deputies after she got off a flight at Orlando International Airport on Friday
Mark, who is originally from Ukraine, said he is “doing everything I can to keep my children safe and together.”
He said Miller, with whom he has no contact, is “not a bad person,” but believes “she made choices she didn’t fully think through.”
A family friend who spoke to the Daily Mail anonymously said life had been “chaotic” for Mark and the children since the accident, which happened while the siblings were attempting to build a blanket fort.
The children reportedly used the dumbbell to hold the fort in place when it fell onto the youngest boy’s head. The friend said there was “a lot of blood.”
The source also said that while Mark is living in a motel with the children, Miller remains at the family’s home.
Montes said Mark and Miller have been married for 15 years and have spent the past two years going through a divorce.
The couple continued living together at the Kissimmee condo until August, when Miller accused Mark of abuse, according to the captain. Mark denies the allegation.
Following the assault allegation, a judge issued a no-contact order prohibiting either person from communicating with the other, Montes said.
Miller allegedly left her four children without adult supervision at their Kissimmee, Florida, home while she traveled to Las Vegas on a business trip
Mark Miller, pictured, became the “unexpected sole caregiver” for the four children after Miller’s Friday arrest. He is now staying with them in a single-room motel
The Department of Children and Family Services, who responded to the scene following Wednesday’s accident, determined that Mark was safe to take the children, she added. At no point was he barred from having a relationship with the kids.
The couple, whose divorce is still going through the courts, have no formal custody arrangement and share guardianship of the children, the captain said.
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Miller filed a dissolution of marriage petition in Osceola County on September 17, court records showed.
The complaint, which is not publicly available, was filed just weeks after Mark was arrested and charged with battery. He has pled not guilty to the charge.
He was taken into custody on August 21 after he allegedly struck Miller outside their children’s school, a charging affidavit said.
Mark was subsequently arrested, charged and released on a $10,000 bond, court records showed.
He waived his arraignment, entered a plea of not guilty and has requested a jury trial, according to a court document filed by his attorney on August 27.
The judge issued the no contact order on September 4, barring Mark from having any contact with Miller, the filing said.
Miller was charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm and booked in Orange County Jail
Miller was led out of the airport in handcuffs and was brought to an idling police vehicle
Miller left her children unattended for five days in this Kissimmee condo. Her nine-year-old son was injured Wednesday night while building a blanket fort inside the unit, a family friend said
He was also banned from coming within 500 feet of Miller’s residence or vehicle. Montes believes this is what prompted Mark’s move to the motel.
When approached by the Daily Mail about the charge, Mark sent a video message of himself saying the words: ‘Not guilty.’
Miller did not reply to our requests for comment.
Deputies said the investigation into Miller’s alleged negligence began when they received a 911 call just after 8.30pm on Wednesday reporting the accident.
Investigators learned that Miller had left for Sin City on October 18, five days before she was scheduled to return home.
Miller, a professional photographer, appeared to be working with a client who was involved with the real estate brokerage franchise network, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, her social media shows.
She allegedly told the deputies she had a babysitter traveling from Tampa each morning to get the children ready for school and that the babysitter would check on them in the afternoon, but she did not require the babysitter to stay overnight.
Mark was arrested and charged with battery on August 21 after he allegedly struck Miller in the arm outside their children’s school. He denies the allegations and has pled not guilty
The mother-of-four, seen with two of her children, and her soon-to-be ex have no formal custody arrangement, police say. They currently share guardianship of the children
When Miller then landed at Orlando International Airport on Friday, deputies were waiting for her and arrested her at the scene.
She was charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm and booked into the Orange County Jail, police said. She has not entered a plea.
Miller was released from jail the next day on $4,000 surety bond. It is unclear when she is next due in court or if she has retained a lawyer.