A Florida mother accused of leaving her four children home alone while traveling to Las Vegas for nearly a week had filed for divorce from her allegedly abusive husband just weeks earlier, according to court records.
Irene Miller, 50, submitted a petition in Osceola County court on Sept. 17 to end her 15-year marriage to Mark Miller, the children’s father, online records show. She was arrested last week on child endangerment charges after her youngest child was struck in the head by a dumbbell while she was away.
Less than a month before the divorce filing, Mark Miller, 53, was charged with criminal battery and served with a restraining order. A police report alleges he slapped his wife’s hand as she held her phone outside the children’s school.
The order barred Mark Miller from coming within 500 feet of Irene Miller. It also said a court hearing would be needed to decide whether he could have contact with their four children, who are 9, 11, 12 and 14 years old.
The child-neglect case began after one of the children called 911 from the family’s home in Kissimmee, Florida. The caller reported that the youngest child had been injured when a dumbbell apparently fell onto his head, according to a Monday news release from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived, they found all four children without adult supervision. The injured 9-year-old boy was taken to a hospital, treated and released, authorities said. Officials did not disclose the extent of his injuries.
Investigators contacted Miller and learned that she had left for a work trip the previous Sunday. She had planned to return five days later, deputies said.
Miller works as a professional photographer and appeared to be in Las Vegas for a client connected to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, a real estate brokerage franchise network, based on her social media posts.
Miller told deputies that a babysitter was scheduled to look after the children before and after school. However, the caregiver was not expected to stay overnight.
Authorities then contacted the children’s father, who took all four children to his home, according to the sheriff’s office.