DAWSON, Pa. — CONTENT WARNING: The information in this story contains graphic descriptions of alleged child abuse.
An 8-year-old girl is on life support and her adoptive mother is being held without bond in the Fayette County Jail as authorities investigate what the district attorney described as a case of extreme child abuse.
Lisa Miller, 60, of Fayette County, was wanted out of West Virginia after witnesses at Big Bear Campgrounds noticed her daughter was extremely ill and vomiting blood that they said smelled like bleach, according to investigators.
Witnesses urged Miller to take the girl to a hospital, but police said she refused and left the campground, prompting a widespread search.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele told Channel 11 the girl is autistic and nonverbal.
Pennsylvania State Police spotted Miller’s vehicle on Route 51 and pulled her over Monday. Investigators said the 8-year-old was unconscious in the back seat, with her legs bound with a dog leash and her body restrained by multiple seat belts. She was also actively seizing.
“It was very clear to us she had no intention of seeking any medical care,” Aubele told Channel 11. “As soon as the troopers came up to the car and saw what they saw, they didn’t even wait for an ambulance. They threw her in the patrol vehicle.”
The girl was later flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where she remains on life support. Her father told Channel 11 she has swelling of the brain due to a lack of oxygen.
Police said Miller had passed two hospitals while driving toward the family’s home in Dawson, Fayette County. Investigators allege Miller said she planned to “lock her up.”
Channel 11 spoke with the girl’s father at the family’s Dawson home Tuesday. He declined an on-camera interview but said he had never witnessed his wife abuse their daughter and had no idea any alleged abuse was happening while he was away for work, sometimes for 20 days at a time.
He also told Channel 11 that his daughter had ingested bleach in the past and that it was something the family had to monitor.
The girl’s father said there is no excuse for the bruising or any of the abuse his daughter appears to have endured.
Investigators said other children told them the alleged abuse occurred only when the father was away from home.
“We found bruises all over the girl,” Aubele said. “It appears there was some type of cream that was used to try to cover up the bruises.”
According to Aubele, 12 children have lived in the Miller home, including three biological children and nine children who were adopted or in foster care. Most of the children are now adults.
One of Miller’s adopted teenage children was also in the vehicle when police stopped it. Investigators said information provided by that child, along with the way the 8-year-old was restrained, led them to believe the alleged abuse continued after Miller left the campground.
“It doesn’t appear that whatever happened at the campground ended at the campground,” Aubele said. “The way she was restrained and some of the things we observed and were told by the other child would indicate there was some abuse here.”
Miller’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month, but she could be extradited to West Virginia before then.
Aubele told Channel 11 the case will be aggressively prosecuted in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
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