Couple accused of driving 8-year-old girl’s body from Airway Heights to South Dakota
A couple is accused of traveling with the body of the woman’s 8-year-old adopted daughter, who had reportedly been dead for at least a month and a half, from Airway Heights to South Dakota.
Aleksander Kurmoyarov, 28, and his girlfriend, Mandie Miller, 33, were each charged with failure to notify law enforcement of the death of a child, according to a Facebook post from the Mitchell Police Department in South Dakota.
The Davison County Coroner told Mitchell police Wednesday that people contacted the coroner stating they were traveling from Washington state to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, with their dead daughter, the post stated. It was unclear who reported the incident . Police identified Kurmoyarov and Miller as the couple who allegedly transported the body.
Mitchell police told Airway Heights police detectives Wednesday that a “Major Crime” occurred in the 13900 block of West Redding Drive, according to an Airway Heights police Facebook post. Police obtained a search warrant.
Mitchell police officers located the couple at a Mitchell residence with a U-Haul trailer that had a coffin with the body of Miller’s daughter inside, Mitchell police said on Facebook. Kurmoyarov told police the girl died in Airway Heights shortly before Halloween, while Miller told investigators her daughter died Sept. 10.
Kurmoyarov told police he did not seek medical attention when she died because he and Miller wanted to spend more time with her and that he was afraid they would get in trouble, the Mitchell police post said. The couple were in South Dakota for about four days, including two days in Mitchell.
They never notified law enforcement of the girl’s death, according to Mitchell police’s post. Airway Heights police said it is working with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Spokane Tribal Police Department and Mitchell police.
Kurmoyarov and Miller are in custody in South Dakota, Airway Heights police said.
Airway Heights police Lt. Jacob Keith said more charges are possible. Keith said he suspected an autopsy would be conducted in South Dakota.