BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — A Boone County judge, based on recommendations from mental health professionals, has determined that the grandfather charged in the starvation death of his 14-year-old granddaughter is not competent to stand trial at this time.

Kyneddi Miller was found dead in her home in the Morrisvale area of Boone County in April 2024, as deputies say she was "emaciated to a skeletal state." Her mother, Julie Miller, 50, was the first to be charged, and then the grandparents, Jerry Stone, 76 and Donna Stone, 78. They all shared a home on Cameo Road.

Jerry was not in court with his daughter and wife on Wednesday, but he was the main focus of the hearing. Not only was he found incompetent, but his case was severed, meaning he is still charged with murder but no longer a co-defendant with Julie and Donna.

Instead of getting ready for a December trial with the two, Jerry will be committed to a mental hospital. Jerry's attorney, Lauren Thompson, was in court on Wednesday as she said doctors have determined Jerry's decline started in 2021, two years before Kyneddi's death. She argued he did not have the wherewithal to know what was going on or knowingly commit an act of violence. Thompson said he just happened to be in the house and an adult.

“There is not one bit of evidence, Judge, provided by the state or alleged at any point that this defendant could have known," Thompson said during the hearing. "So what we’re doing is, when we look at this in the bigger picture, is we are victimizing yet another incompetent person in the home.”

Boone County Circuit Court Judge Stacy Nowicki-Eldridge ruled that he remain in the court's jurisdiction while they monitor his competence.

“I am finding that I am going to maintain jurisdiction over this defendant and he is going to be committed to a mental health inpatient facility as designated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, which is the least restrictive environment available to manage this defendant and allow for protection of the public," she said.

The court has ordered that a danger assessment be done on Jerry within the next 30 days to determine the best placement.

Boone County prosecuting attorney Dan Holstein said during the hearing that these rulings do not mean guilty or innocent or that the charges are dropped, just that the case can move along while Jerry is treated and still under the purview of the court.

“He’s not being convicted of anything. This is not findings of being a bad person or anything like that at all. It is simply that he is incompetent, and he is charged with something that involves a risk," Holstein said.

The new trial date set in this case for Julie and Donna is Dec. 2. All parties anticipate this trial will take at least two weeks.