Boy, 15 months, died after ingesting drugs. Parents charged with aggravated manslaughter

A man and woman have been arrested on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child in connection with the drug-related death of their 15-month-old son.

County Judge Tommy Thompson on Thursday ruled that Kelli Nichole Starling, 37, and Daniel Brady Miller, 48, will be held without bail. Assistant State Attorney Yaveth Parodi said her office will seek pretrial detention for both defendants.

The judge told both defendants not to have contact with anyone younger than 18. Their next court dates will be in June.

Starling and Miller both need public defenders. To avoid a conflict, one defendant likely will be represented by the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel.

How the case unfolded

Detective Joseph Miller, who investigated the case, said in his report that his agency went to 1412 NE 28th Lane in response to a report of an unresponsive child. The juvenile, later identified as Daltin Lee Miller, was pronounced dead on scene by Marion County Fire Rescue.

Miller was told Daltin had been removed from his parents' custody at birth because the child and his mother both tested positive for drugs. Daltin, who was born in late 2022, was returned to his father on Feb. 9, 2024, on the condition that the child's mother move out of the residence, according to the arrest report.

It was discovered that Starling had returned to the residence on Feb. 27 to help the child's father take care of their son. A family care manager did a home check on the same day and the child was sick.

The father told the official he was going to take his son to the doctor. Daltin's father told the detective that the child's mother had been staying at the residence from Feb. 27 until March 1, the day they called 911 for help.

The victim's father said he took his son to the doctor on Feb. 29 and was given amoxicillin and a breathing nebulizer to treat the boy. That night, the man said, his son had trouble sleeping and he and the boy's mother were in the bed with their son.

He said they took turns taking care of their son. He said Starling woke him up on March 1, telling him she didn't know if Daltin was breathing.

Realizing his son was not breathing, he called 911. Although he has a history of drug use, the child's father said he wasn't using drugs at that time.

The detective interviewed Starling. She said even though she's not allowed to be at the home, she went there on March 1 to help her son's father take care of their child. She said her son was up for most of the night and had difficulty breathing.

Starling said she eventually fell asleep. She told the detective she was not using drugs at that time, though she had been a drug user in the past.

When processing the scene, sheriff's officials recovered drugs in the room where Daltin died. The child's parents declined to give a urine test for a drug screening.

Interviewing family members, the detective was told both Miller and Starling were current drug users. One family member said the boy had previously taken amoxicillin and he was fine. The detective was told the couple used drugs including a horse tranquilizer.

On April 22, the detective heard from the Medical Examiner's Office. The child's cause of death was acute toxicity due to the combined effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine, which is a tranquilizer used for animals such as horses. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

A doctor told the detective that the child had a "significant amount of drugs" in his blood and liver. Tests indicate the drugs had been ingested by the child.

Press conference on Thursday

At a press conference held at the Marion County Sheriff's Office Thursday morning, Lt. Paul Bloom, joined by Detectives Daniel Pinder and Miller, told the media his agency is "glad to see when justice catches up to criminals."

Bloom gave an overview of the case and what led them to arrest Daltin's mother and father. The supervisor said when the child's father was arrested, he had fentanyl in his possession.

Drug overdose: Marion County judge denies bail for Ocala woman whose baby died from drug overdose

The lieutenant thanked the detectives for their hard work and for not giving up until there was an arrest. He said drug use is not a victimless crime. Users are not only hurting themselves, but also others.

This is "a tragedy," Bloom said. "We knew we did the right thing."

Contact Austin L. Miller [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Deputies said 15-month-old boy overdosed. Parents charged in the death.