BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — It has been one year since Boone County deputies made a discovery that sent shockwaves through the state.

On April 17, 2024, Kyneddi Miller, a 14-year-old girl living in the Morrisvale area, was found dead on the bathroom floor in her home. Deputies say she was emaciated to a skeletal state and apparently starved.

So much has happened in the past year with this case because not only is it still playing out in court with murder charges for Kyneddi's mother and grandparents, but the case also marked a turning point for the state where several systemic issues came to light in one tragedy.

It's a case that started in Boone County and gained statewide attention.

When deputies found Miller last year, they were told she had not been outside, but maybe a couple of times, in four years. She was not in school and was not getting any kind of medical treatment even though her grandmother said she had an eating disorder and was unable to function for days.

“A very, very traumatic situation not only for the family, friends and neighbors but the first responders who were there as well," Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker said after the discovery was made last year.

Julie Miller, Kyneddi’s mother, was the first to be arrested. Days later, Kyneddi’s grandparents, Donna and Jerry Stone, who the teen girl also lived with, were also arrested.

At the time they were only charged with child neglect causing death but were later indicted for Kyneddi’s murder.

Shorty after her death, reporters and child advocates began asking the central question - the same question Kelli Caseman, the former director for Think Kids WV, posed in a May 2024 interview with Eyewitness News.

“Why would a 14 year old girl starve to death? That is something that takes so long and is such a horrible way to die. How did no one intervene?” Caseman asked.

The Department of Human Services, which houses Child Protective Services, maintained in the beginning they could not comment on prior involvement in Kyneddi’s life because of issues with confidentiality.

Jim Justice, who was governor at the time and now a U.S. senator, sent some mixed messages about this. At first, he told reporters in an April briefing that CPS did not know about the girl. He later walked that back in May to say he was given false information and that attorneys with DoHS "screwed it up."

Eyewitness News did learn, however, through a Freedom of Information Act request that state troopers did visit Kyneddi about a year before she died, working a tip from a family friend who had not seen her.

GPS coordinates and radio traffic corroborated this and that they did visit the Boone County DHHR office to make what they called a "referral."

All of this information coming out led to a press conference called by the state with all the agencies in the room to address it once and for all.

Brian Abraham, the former chief of staff for Gov. Justice, said it was revealed in the state probe that the troopers who visited Kyneddi in 2023 had no concerns for her safety or well-being. They did have a mental health concern as the troopers said Kyneddi expressed her fear of COVID and people, which seemed unusual.

The troopers took it on to the DHHR office but had more of what was described as an informal chat about it instead of making an official referral because it did rise to the level of abuse and neglect.

“Yeah, they could’ve said here’s an 800 number you call it, but that 800 number is for abuse and neglect referrals. This was not one," Abraham explained in the June 2024 briefing.

Later in the year, DoHS announced a new intake system to allow for differentiated response meaning if someone calls into the hotline and has a concern that is not abuse or neglect, they can be referred to the appropriate services rather than just end it there.

The other component was the homeschooling one.

Kyneddi was pulled from school in 2020 over COVID concerns but never turned in the required homeschooling assessment in 8th grade.

Boone County Schools could have pursued a truancy order against the family over that. However, school officials, such as West Virginia State Superintendent Michele Blatt, explained at the time that this was not always feasible for attendance directors already overwhelmed keeping up with students in the public school system.

“The political climate that we've had the last several years that when they do pursue and they do push, there's national advocacy groups and others that threaten lawsuits," she said. "Then they end up in a different type of court situation because they're asking people to follow the law and they feel like that the state should not be involved in their students' lives."

While the criminal case with her mom and grandparents continues to play out awaiting a trial date, legislation was on the move this session to address some of the shortcomings from this case.

Lawmakers continued to push for homeschool and CPS reform. A homeschooling bill that included a provision that would have delayed a parent from homeschooling their child if there was an active child abuse or neglect investigation passed the House but did not get much traction in the Senate.

During House debate, Kyneddi was brought up by Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone.

“As many of you know we had a situation in Boone County that really devastated our communities and I really think this would help resolve future cases like that," he said on the floor.

On the other hand, a bill did fully pass this session that will create a critical incident review team made up of law enforcement, social services and legislators that would allow to review child fatalities in the system and shape policy.

A trial date has been set yet for Julie Miller and Donna and Jerry Stone. The court is still awaiting a competency evaluation for Jerry.