Murder trial of Boone County grandmother postponed after cancer diagnosis
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The murder trial for a Boone County grandmother charged in the death of her 14-year-old granddaughter has once again been postponed.
Murder trial of Boone County grandmother postponed after cancer diagnosis
Robert Fields | WVOW News
MADISON Donna Stone was scheduled to stand trial on July 21st, but during a Wednesday pretrial hearing, the court rescheduled the trial for October 13th after Stone was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
Stone is charged with murder by a parent, guardian or custodian by failure to provide necessities and child neglect resulting in death following the April 2024 death of Kyneddi Miller, who investigators said was found in an emaciated condition inside the family's Boone County home.
Kyneddi's mother, Julie Miller, pleaded guilty to the same charges in November 2025 and was sentenced in February to an indeterminate prison term of 15 years to life. She will become eligible for parole after 15 years and, if released, must serve 50 years of supervised release. She was also placed on the state's Child Abuse and Neglect Registry.
Kyneddi's grandfather, Jerry Stone, was ruled incompetent to stand trial in September 2025 following a court-ordered mental evaluation. All three defendants pleaded not guilty during arraignment proceedings in October 2024.
According to the criminal complaint, relatives told investigators Kyneddi had suffered from an eating disorder, had gone months without eating properly and had become unable to care for herself during the several days leading up to her death.
Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Holstein previously said Kyneddi had remained on the floor where she died for four to five days and that the medical examiner determined prolonged malnourishment caused her death.
The case also prompted statewide scrutiny of Child Protective Services after questions arose about a 2023 welfare check and whether referrals were properly documented. State officials later strengthened abuse and neglect reporting procedures after determining a West Virginia State Police trooper had attempted to refer the case to CPS, but no action was taken.