Murder Trial Begins for Parents of Overdosed Child
Murder Trial Begins for Parents of Overdosed Child Save Email Print
Posted: 10:18 PM Apr 28, 2008
 Last Updated: 1:02 AM Apr 29, 2008
 Reporter: WSAZ News Channel 3
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JACKSON, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A murder trial began for two eastern Kentucky parents in the death of their 11-month-old child.

Braxton Miller died of a methadone overdose in June of last year.

The Commonwealth's attorney says Karen and Robert Miller showed extreme indifference to their baby's life, but defense attorneys argue that the Millers are victims of a tragic accident.

Prosecutors said Robert Miller brought home two methadone pills on June 5th.

The Miller's attorneys said one of those pills got lost in a piece of furniture.

Hours later the Millers took an unresponsive Braxton to the hospital, but he never woke up.

Testimony continues Tuesday.
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Posted by: Mother on May 9, 2008 at 09:56 AM
METHADONE CLINICS ARE A JOKE! ANYONE USING METHADONE WHO THINKS THEY ARE DOING BETTER, IS JUST LIVING A LIE. GET CLEAN LOCK YOURSELF IN A ROOM HAVE SOMEONE PUT FOOD AND WATER UNDER THE DOOR AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL YOUR CLEAN!!!! NO IT'S NOT EASY! BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS CHILDS FAMILY TO GET OVER THE FACT THAT HIS PARENTS KILLED HIM BECAUSE THEY WANTED THE EASY WAY OUT OF HAVING TO BUY DRUGS! JEREMY YOU REALLY HAVE A BAD DRUG PROBLEM STOP LYING TO YOURSELF AND GET REAL HELP NOT METHADONE!
Posted by: jeremy on May 2, 2008 at 03:53 PM
like i said, i'm happier and my life is a lot better. what's wrong with that? it's not about conforming to some "you must quit" philosophy, it's about what works for each individual. it's about harm reduction. this is what works for me. please, don't lay your morality or some god trip on me, because i just don't care about either one. i'm happy, my family is happy, and that's all that matters.
Posted by: to jeremy on May 2, 2008 at 09:30 AM
But really you are still using but in a legall way
Posted by: just me on May 2, 2008 at 09:24 AM
Methadone is just trading one drug for another!!! It does not help you quit things.... If it is not addictive then why do you withdraw from it??
Posted by: jeremy on May 1, 2008 at 05:21 PM
thanks - but no thanks. i'm fine. i'm happier. i'm happy with my job and my job is happy with me. my family is happier. it saves me money, and i easily afford the cost. how does that make me a slave? sorry things sucked for you, but i'm feeling a lot better since i quit using and started maintaing.
Posted by: to jeremy on May 1, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Jeremy you are so wrong i was addicted for 7 Years to meth and one day i saw that the man i was wasnt the man that i wanted to be and i quit i did not go to some methadone clinic to get my fix in a legal way i just quit with the help from God. I was spending $300.00 a day on a 8 ball of meth and yes i was still a provider for my three kids but i was not a father to them. I dont see how or why you would want free from one addiction just to get hooked on another one i mean be for real you may have stopped spending money on illegal drugs but you started spending them on prescribtion drugs that seems pointless to me. I am not saying this to condem you because i would love to talk to you and try top help you the way that i was helped because i know what it is like to be a slave to drugs it is not fun at all i lost my job and was about to loose my house, wife, and kids before i quit
Posted by: GABE'S MOMMY on May 1, 2008 at 09:40 AM
THERE'S NO MAN,WOMAN OR DRUG OF ANY KIND WORTH LOSING YOU CHILD OVER BUT THERES SO MANY PEOLPLE NOW DAYS WHO CHOSE THEM FIRST .I HAVE A 17 MONTH OLD BABY BOY AND HE'S MY EVERYTHING ,MY LIFE. BESIDES IF I DROPED A PILL OF ANY KIND I WOULD PUT MY CHILD IN HIS HIGH-CHAIR, CRIB OR SOMEWERE WERE HE COULDN'T GET IT UNTILL IT WAS FOUND SO THERES NO EXCUSE FOR THE LOSS OF THIS LITTLE ANGEL BOTH PARENTS ARE TO BLAME!!! AND THATS ALL THERES IS TO IT!
Posted by: BABY on Apr 30, 2008 at 07:27 PM
BOTH PARENTS SHOULD GO TO JAIL. YOU DONT DROP A PILL AND LET A BABY FIND IT . SORRY I DONT BUY THEIR STORY. HAPPY DAY
Posted by: ohio on Apr 30, 2008 at 07:07 PM
What do these pills taste like. Babies will put anything in their month, but if it doesn't taste good, they spit it out - not swallow it.
Posted by: jeremy on Apr 30, 2008 at 05:12 PM
yeah, i'm hooked. so what? i'm also being treated by a doctor, who prescribes my maintenance drug. i have a good job. i'm a father to my kids. i'm much happier now than i was when i had to scrape together money and chase my drugs down all day long. and it's true, i might be on it for a while. condemning me because i'm addicted to something is a moral judgement, and your morals don't apply to me. so what if i'm addicted - that's not the issue. i'm not wasting money and risking legal trouble because i see a doctor and my drugs are dispensed to me, and i pay for them. i'm better, and thats what matters. this is the problem with drug prohibition - the illegality is what breeds crime, not the addiction itself. people can be "addicted", while still be a good and productive member of society. myself and lots of others are walking proof. opiate addiction is a disease to be treated, not a crime. you've obviously never been in this position, so you just don't understand.
Posted by: you dopers need help on Apr 30, 2008 at 01:10 PM
IF IT IS A DRUG TO HELP THEN WHY DO PEOPLE STAY ON IT FOR YEARS AND YEARS GET REAL YOUR HOOKED JEREMY AND MICHELLE
Posted by: jeremy on Apr 30, 2008 at 11:49 AM
it amazes me how uninformed people are about methadone. it's not a legal high, it's a way to maintain an addiction, legally, so those of us who suffer from this disease can work, concentrate on our families, and have a chance to lead a normal life without chasing drugs around all day. methadone and similar drugs have saved a lot of otherwise hopelessly lost people. no one going through this needs you to lay your morality about it just being a legal way to stay addicted on anyone. it's really none of your business how we manage our addictions. think before you type, and maybe don't judge so much. it's unfortunate that this little boy died because he found someones medicine and ate it, but that medicine stuck in the couch could have been any number of drugs other than methadone.
Posted by: anon on Apr 30, 2008 at 11:43 AM
In a neighboring state,the state pays for transportation for people to get methadone. Some of these people have been going for 5 plus years.Tax payers money at use
Posted by: Anonymous on Apr 30, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I would of took that baby in a second, and then they could of did anything they wanted, look at the picture, he is so adorable. They need to shut the clinics down, we have a neighbor, that went to those clinics, and they was aloud to leave with it, they was not getting any better, only getting it free, when they can, that is all that they go after.And yes we the neighborhood, made it hard for them to live around us, and they finally left, we gave them no choice, the police would not do anything, so we took it in our own hands, without breaking the law, anybody reading this, that is hooked got a kid, take the kid to any Church, you will not get into trouble, and the baby will be taken care of the right way....THINK OF THE CHILDREN FIRST, Churches is always opened... PLEASE
Posted by: Michelle on Apr 30, 2008 at 10:28 AM
I would like to get one thing straight. Methodone is not just for people on drugs or just from the clinics. I suffer from chronic pain and I go to a pain center (not a methodone clinic) who prescribes me a 1 month supply each month. You don't get high from taking your proper dose. Don't condemn and make judgements about a medication you know nothing about. Taken properly, it can reduce excruciating pain to a livable level. The clinics give doses to people to take home after they have established themselves as long term patients who pass their drug tests and yes there are those who just go for the pills. I don't know how he had those pills or how that poor baby got it but they should have looked everywhere when they realized they had lost one and watched that precious baby. I am in no way excusing him for bringing pills home and being so careless. They will suffer the rest of their lives from the loss of their child. That's the worst punishment a parent can get.
Posted by: Do something about it on Apr 30, 2008 at 08:08 AM
Methadone is not a way to get off of drugs, it is just another habit that is legal and cheap. Most of the people who get methadone either sell it or abuse it. I work in emergency medicine and the only things I have seen are the overdoses of this stuff, nothing good comes from it. Methadone should only be used in a controlled setting with no chance of abuse, such as inpatient care where doses are monitored. We have let this go to far, if people need to be on methadone they do not need to have children in their presence, they obviously chose drugs over their children to begin with.
Posted by: Rita on Apr 29, 2008 at 11:37 PM
I agree with Mike on April 29, 2008 @ 02:39PM - SHUT THEM DOWN! All of them! You get hooked on this stuff suffer the consequences by quitting the old fashioned way! Numerous people have lost loved ones from these clinics that are just legal ways to get a high! Get rid of them or find the clinics and personnel responsible for these people that overdose! They should NOT be allowed to leave with this stuff! They should have to be monitored at all times! There is NO medical use for this stuff - all it is just a way to kill! The people that take this stuff can say whatever, its out there and they chose to ingest it! Alot of them get this stuff, bring it to OUR towns and sell it! If they want to "quit", then put them in a room, no windows, no beds, and chain them to a wall and let them shake, puke, and anything else until their dried out! God now has him another beautiful Angel to play with because from his picture above, Braxton was precious!
Posted by: Crystal on Apr 29, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Okay for one anybody can pay and go to a methadone Clinic and get pills for a drug addiction, but if they had a drug addiction why did they have a 11 month old child?that is partly the cps' fault they did not need a child and most pregnant people don't stop doing drugs during the 10 months so if people would do their job a lot of kids and babies would be healthy and alive
Posted by: cindy on Apr 29, 2008 at 06:37 PM
For those of you that do not think children should be around meth then drive by our very own meth clinic in huntington and see all the druggies with their children there in the morning and afternoon then they drive with the children in the car. These meth clinics make being a drug abuser legal.
Posted by: jeremy on Apr 29, 2008 at 06:27 PM
james: methadone - not meth. there's quite a difference. i take a similar drug for maintenance myself. it's no ones business where or how they got the pills, but yeah, they definitely should have been out of reach. i have a baby, and i make very certain that nothing like that is in a place she can get to it. people would rather demonize these people for having the pills than listen to the, which is really too bad. don't be so judgemental. it's a horrible accident that could have been prevented. they'll be punished every day of their lives as it is, i don't think prosecuting them for murder is really necessary, except for the conviction hungry prosecutors. so sad...
Posted by: Jennifer on Apr 29, 2008 at 06:14 PM
we have an 11 month old, she doesn't pick things out of the couch. or maybe these 2 PRIZE winning parents were so obliterated that they couldn't watch the child. methodone has a tendency to make people watch the backs of their eyelids and nothing else.
Posted by: Bev on Apr 29, 2008 at 05:50 PM
I agree that they should have been much more diligent than they were with this medication. I can't help the way my heart breaks when I see them in court. The fact that their baby is dead because of their actions shows on their faces. Yes, they will have to be punished according to the law but I'm sure that they are punishing themselves too. I know from experience that raising babies is not an easy job. The little things put everything they pick up in there mouths. The war on drugs take many lives and unfortunately some of them are the innocents. God help us all.
Posted by: SK on Apr 29, 2008 at 02:43 PM
I have 2 kids and 2 small dogs. If I were to drop a pill or a vitamin, I would search high and low until I found it to make sure my kids and my dogs would not get it. If these parents even cared an ounce for the baby, they wouldn't even be doing drugs in the first place!
Posted by: justice on Apr 29, 2008 at 02:43 PM
there was a lady that went to jail a few weaks ago in charleston for her brother in law taking one of her pills and died they need to get the person that the pill come from also
Posted by: Boyd co. on Apr 29, 2008 at 02:42 PM
As i have read some of the comments here, My opinion is this baby die at the hands of his father and mother both are guilty. The father for bringing that crap in the house and the mother for letting him bring drugs around her child. this is no accident they both knew the drugs where in the house. And it seems to me if you drop a pill like that you would search until you find it.
Posted by: mike on Apr 29, 2008 at 02:39 PM
methadone the only thing that is is a way to do dope legally i say shut down all of their clinics and let them quit the old fashion way
Posted by: Melissa on Apr 29, 2008 at 01:29 PM
In 2005 Methadone is indicated in over 4600 deaths nationwide and this number is underestimated due to an error in ICD10 coding and non uniform procedures in reporting and determining causes of death. Methadone is killing more people than any other prescription drug, killing 2 people for every 100 exposed. Methadone is now the #2 Killer Drug in the U.S. Methadone is more addictive then any other pain medication including heroin and because of it’s extremely long half life, cardio toxic risks, numerous fatal drug interactions, dosages based on tolerance, and small margin of error. We cannot continue to allow a legal medication to be killing more people then the illegal drugs. Our government cannot be allowed to use tax dollars to fund their legal drug dealing operations. www.harmd.org Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths
Posted by: Sherry on Apr 29, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Methadone pills should have been put out of the child's reach.
Posted by: Debbie on Apr 29, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Anon, if he got them from the methadone clinic that may have been his weekend supply. If that's true he had them legally. None the less, if I drop a blood pressure pill, or even a hormone I comb the place until I find it, so my dogs won't get it. You'd think that's the least you could do for a child. When my kids were younger I never left any kind of medicine where they could get it. This was definitely careless, I don't know without all the facts whether it was really criminal or not. If he legally had it, you'd almost have to prosecute every parent who's kids get into something dangerous for them. You can't single him out if he has it legally because it happens to be methadone.
Posted by: Anonymous on Apr 29, 2008 at 09:35 AM
My prayers are with these parents.
Posted by: Tammy on Apr 29, 2008 at 09:07 AM
I understand maybe the parents needed the pills but a least if you are going to do stuff like that make sure your child is no where around. Leave them with a family member or someone. Common sense tells you not to do stupid stuff around your children. Children are to precious to lose them over a drug habit. If you needed the pills that bad then go get help the right way. So no one gets hurt, the only problem now is it is to late for the poor little baby involved in all of this. As a parent I hope both of you get exactally what you deserve.
Posted by: james on Apr 29, 2008 at 08:19 AM
if you would bother reading you would see that Robert Miller ought the meth pills in to the home so the story says. so that tells me that the parents at least one of them are a meth head. and should be heald accountabel for their actions.
Posted by: Kim on Apr 29, 2008 at 08:12 AM
I have heard that if someone is coming off some real bad drugs...legal or illegal... if a person goes to a methadone clinic (and some doctors do this too) that they will only give the patient a prescription for a day supply of the drug...it's to keep this off the streets and to try to help people from over dosing on it. (The patient must go back each and every day for counseling and usually drug testing-so they can get their next dose) So maybe that is the case here, one or both parents must have been in some rehab treatment and could only be trusted with a one day supply of the drug.
Posted by: Anonymous on Apr 29, 2008 at 08:07 AM
if there was just 2 pills and they werent perscribed to either parent then they had no business being in the house in the first place. and then loosing them to where the baby was able to find them, yea i would say they are responsible for the death of that baby. simply because the pills should have never been in the home , nor should they have been where the baby could have reached them.
Posted by: paula on Apr 29, 2008 at 07:57 AM
i wont be scared to put my name on here.i have a 20mt old granddaughter had she has a habbit of putting things in her mouth.but never has she been around anyhting like this.i agree the pills should had been put away not in the reach of a small child.all babies put things in their lil mouths but come on a parent knows to put all meds out of reach.the parents of this beatiful baby now face life without their chid for something stupid.i dont think they gave the baby the pill i just think they were messed up from taking them thereself and it was a careless mistake they will pay for the reat of their life.my god be with the rest of famil who has suffered the loss of a wonderfull thing.
Posted by: Anonymous on Apr 29, 2008 at 02:35 AM
I would like to know WHY the pills was even in the house if the were not Medication for one of the Parents and where was the parents when the child was roaming around ,How did the child find it and them not know what was going on IF it was lost in the furniture then how could the BABY find it, let alone get it and take it. Just a few questions I would like to know. don't mean to be cruel but someone needs to ask them. When you take Medication you keep it put up away from small children well not just small kids but all kids I understand things happen MAY GOD BE WITH YOU .
Posted by: Anonymous on Apr 28, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Something fishy here. Just two pills? Where did the pills come from? Why did he have the pills?
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The Yell: Comments for the Week of 1/4
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