Police greeted Kissimmee mother Irene Miller as she stepped off a plane returning to Orlando from Las Vegas on Friday after investigators say she left four children ages 9 to 14 behind when she "went to work in Vegas." (Photo/Osceola County Sheriff's Office)
She tried her luck and she busted. Came up snake-eyes. Went all in and lost.
Who knows how Irene Miller really did in Las Vegas, but her fortune took a toll for the worse when she returned to Orlando on Friday — while her four children were at home unsupervised.
Miller, 50, of Kissimmee, was arrested by Orlando Police officers at Orlando International Airport and charged with four counts of child neglect with great bodily harm after investigators said she left the children, ages 9 to 14, at home on Oct. 18 headed for Vegas. She was booked into the Orange County Jail.
The investigation began just after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 when the Sheriff's Office said it received a 911 call from a juvenile that her 9-year-old brother had been injured from a dumbbell that fell on his head. Deputies responded to the Parkway Boulevard apartment on the west side of town just north of Celebration and found the four kids with no adult supervision. The 9-year-old was taken to Celebration Hospital for treatment and returned to the home.
According to Sheriff's spokesperson Capt. Kim Montes, deputies made phone contact with Miller, the children's mother, who said she was working in Las Vegas and would return two days later. Deputies learned Miller had left three days prior.
"She told deputies that she had a babysitter coming from Tampa in the mornings to get the children ready for school and to check on them after school, but she did not require her to stay the night," Montes said.
OCSO detectives met the mother at the airport Friday and arrested her. The father of the children was contacted and responded to take all four children to his residence.
“The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office will not tolerate child neglect. These cases will be investigated, and charges will be brought against the parents who are not properly supervising or caring for their children.” said Sheriff Chris Blackmon.
