SPOKANE, Wash. – A month after Airway Heights Mother Mandie Miller pleaded guilty to death by homicide of her 8-year old adopted daughter Meela, Miller was sentenced to 388 months of imprisonment and 36 months of community service.
The sentencing is the maximum allowed under the plea agreement Mandie Miller signed at the time of her guilty plea.
Court documents show a pattern of abuse against the child, including starvation and imprisonment with zip ties.
According to medical examiners, meela died in September of 2022, yet remained in Mandie Miller and Aleksander Kurmoyarov’s Airway heights home until December.
At which point, court documents say they placed the body in a casket in the back of a U-Haul and drove the remains to the Rosebud Sioux reservation, with the intent of burying Meela there.
Since the couple couldn’t provide the proper documentation around her death, authorities were contacted and the two were later arrested.
Kurmoyarov accepted a plea agreement in December 2025, while Miller pleaded guilty in January 2026.
Friday’s sentencing hearing in Spokane Superior court was only to determine Miller’s sentence.
As part of those proceedings, victim impact statements were read and Miller was allowed to speak on her behalf.
“I would never wish this pain on my worst enemy because obviously this sentence doesn’t feel right,” Biological Mother Andrea Miller told the court. ” It doesn’t feel right at all to me.”
The 8-year-old’s uncle also gave a statement, read by a Victim Advocate.
“Her actions were heinous, and she has shown little remorse for what she did, not only to her daughter, but to everyone who loved Meela,” the Advocate read. “No punishment the state of Washington can impose is too severe.”
Mandie also gave a statement, citing her childhood and underlying mental health concerns.
“My daughter did not deserve any abuse or neglect from me, and she most definitely didn’t deserve any abuse from Alex,” Miller said.
Ultimately, the Judge imposed the maximum sentence, citing the harm that the child faced and the ongoing impact on the child’s family.
