This is just disgusting: (excerpted from The Citizen's Voice)
Paul Hoffman Sr. and Lyda Miller, who were arrested Tuesday night for allegedly starving and beating her 18-year-old son, may face additional charges pending results of the autopsy on Friday.
Chester Lee Miller, whose 5-foot-3-inch body weighed only 63 pounds, died early Wednesday morning at Santa Rosa Medical Center in Milton, Fla. He had been a patient at the medical center since Sept. 21 when Hoffman sent him on a bus to Florida.
Luzerne County District Attorney David W. Lupas and Hazleton Police Chief Ed Harry said it is one of the most appalling crimes they have encountered.
"We always find something that beats the last horrible crime," Chief Harry said. "I wish I had a nickel every time I said that."
Lupas said two detectives, one from his office and the other from Hazleton, would be traveling to Florida on Friday for the autopsy. Pending the results to determine the cause and manner of death, Hoffman and Miller may face homicide charges.
Lupas said additional persons might face charges if the investigation determines that they had knowledge of the abuse that lasted for nearly five months. "We want to get the exact cause of death when the pathologist performs the autopsy," Lupas said. "There is a possibility of homicide charges, but there is a lot of leg work that needs to be completed first."
Two younger children who lived with Hoffman and Lyda Miller are in the custody of Luzerne County Children and Youth Services, Lupas said. It was unknown if the two younger children were neglected or abused.
According to arrest papers, Hoffman purchased a bus ticket about a week ago for Chester Miller to live with his natural father in Florida. When he arrived in Milton, Fla., on Sept. 21, he knocked on the door of Janice Goodman asking her for food and for a bath.
Goodman gave Chester Miller a sandwich and a drink, but he threw it up. Milton, Fla., police were called and had Chester Miller transported to Santa Rosa Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Doctors removed one-half of his intestines and about two-thirds of his stomach, according to arrest papers.
On Sept. 23-24, doctors had to resuscitate Chester Miller when he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. Hospital officials related to Hazleton police that Chester Miller was in "grave, critical" condition, and that his body threatened to consume its own muscle and organ tissue to survive because he suffered from extreme malnutrition.
Prior to undergoing surgery, Chester Miller was questioned by Milton police and adult protective officials at the hospital. He related he had been living with his natural mother and Hoffman in Hazleton for nearly a year and was abused. He did not know why he was being abused, but was kept mostly to one room and was not permitted to leave the house located at 846 N. Vine St.
Chester Miller told Florida officials he did not attend school and had no friends. He would only be fed scraps of food left over from Hoffman and Lyda Miller after they were finished eating.
When Milton police asked him about the bruises on his left hand, right wrist and right leg, Chester Miller said Hoffman and Lyda Miller would spank and hit him every day, and assault him with a wire handle from a fly-swatter.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were questioned by Hazleton police on Tuesday and confessed they had Chester Miller stand in a corner of their home from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to arrest papers. Hoffman told police he struck Chester Miller whenever he moved.
Hoffman further said when he took a nap, Chester Miller would be sent to his bedroom until he woke up and would make him stand again in the corner. Chester Miller was also beaten by Hoffman when he ate candy bars given to him by the other two children living inside the home.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were arrested and charged Tuesday night prior to Chester Miller's death. They were arraigned before District Justice Joe Zola in Hazleton and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were sent to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 bail each.
Since this story broke, both Hoffman and Miller have gone on the news to tell how the other is at fault and not them. There have been rumors that poison was found in the boy's body and that Hoffman crushed his aderall into three sandwiches that he gave him to sustain him on the trip to FL. The cause of the boy's death was his stomach rupturing.
I can't imagine the living he** this boy went through with these people. How bad must it have been for an 18 yo to actually be starved by his mother and BF! When he was sent to FL, he didn't even have a clue as to where his biological father lived.
I'm sharing this, because I can hardly believe it. It is the type of thing that even a bad movie should not be based. Thankfully, he found an angel in his final hours to take him in and be nice to him.
Paul Hoffman Sr. and Lyda Miller, who were arrested Tuesday night for allegedly starving and beating her 18-year-old son, may face additional charges pending results of the autopsy on Friday.
Chester Lee Miller, whose 5-foot-3-inch body weighed only 63 pounds, died early Wednesday morning at Santa Rosa Medical Center in Milton, Fla. He had been a patient at the medical center since Sept. 21 when Hoffman sent him on a bus to Florida.
Luzerne County District Attorney David W. Lupas and Hazleton Police Chief Ed Harry said it is one of the most appalling crimes they have encountered.
"We always find something that beats the last horrible crime," Chief Harry said. "I wish I had a nickel every time I said that."
Lupas said two detectives, one from his office and the other from Hazleton, would be traveling to Florida on Friday for the autopsy. Pending the results to determine the cause and manner of death, Hoffman and Miller may face homicide charges.
Lupas said additional persons might face charges if the investigation determines that they had knowledge of the abuse that lasted for nearly five months. "We want to get the exact cause of death when the pathologist performs the autopsy," Lupas said. "There is a possibility of homicide charges, but there is a lot of leg work that needs to be completed first."
Two younger children who lived with Hoffman and Lyda Miller are in the custody of Luzerne County Children and Youth Services, Lupas said. It was unknown if the two younger children were neglected or abused.
According to arrest papers, Hoffman purchased a bus ticket about a week ago for Chester Miller to live with his natural father in Florida. When he arrived in Milton, Fla., on Sept. 21, he knocked on the door of Janice Goodman asking her for food and for a bath.
Goodman gave Chester Miller a sandwich and a drink, but he threw it up. Milton, Fla., police were called and had Chester Miller transported to Santa Rosa Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Doctors removed one-half of his intestines and about two-thirds of his stomach, according to arrest papers.
On Sept. 23-24, doctors had to resuscitate Chester Miller when he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. Hospital officials related to Hazleton police that Chester Miller was in "grave, critical" condition, and that his body threatened to consume its own muscle and organ tissue to survive because he suffered from extreme malnutrition.
Prior to undergoing surgery, Chester Miller was questioned by Milton police and adult protective officials at the hospital. He related he had been living with his natural mother and Hoffman in Hazleton for nearly a year and was abused. He did not know why he was being abused, but was kept mostly to one room and was not permitted to leave the house located at 846 N. Vine St.
Chester Miller told Florida officials he did not attend school and had no friends. He would only be fed scraps of food left over from Hoffman and Lyda Miller after they were finished eating.
When Milton police asked him about the bruises on his left hand, right wrist and right leg, Chester Miller said Hoffman and Lyda Miller would spank and hit him every day, and assault him with a wire handle from a fly-swatter.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were questioned by Hazleton police on Tuesday and confessed they had Chester Miller stand in a corner of their home from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to arrest papers. Hoffman told police he struck Chester Miller whenever he moved.
Hoffman further said when he took a nap, Chester Miller would be sent to his bedroom until he woke up and would make him stand again in the corner. Chester Miller was also beaten by Hoffman when he ate candy bars given to him by the other two children living inside the home.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were arrested and charged Tuesday night prior to Chester Miller's death. They were arraigned before District Justice Joe Zola in Hazleton and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Hoffman and Lyda Miller were sent to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 bail each.
Since this story broke, both Hoffman and Miller have gone on the news to tell how the other is at fault and not them. There have been rumors that poison was found in the boy's body and that Hoffman crushed his aderall into three sandwiches that he gave him to sustain him on the trip to FL. The cause of the boy's death was his stomach rupturing.
I can't imagine the living he** this boy went through with these people. How bad must it have been for an 18 yo to actually be starved by his mother and BF! When he was sent to FL, he didn't even have a clue as to where his biological father lived.
I'm sharing this, because I can hardly believe it. It is the type of thing that even a bad movie should not be based. Thankfully, he found an angel in his final hours to take him in and be nice to him.
That's awful!
This is so heart wrenching. Just imagining the hell Chester went through at the vile hands of his own mother and her boyfriend sickens me and brings tears to my eyes. What kind of animal would do that to another human being, let alone their own flesh and blood? Both of the idiots will probably get out of jail though. They'll both prove they have mental problems and will get by with torture and murder.
