Carolyn Miller was arrested because the baby she was babysitting died. Not overly educated, and likely not overly bright, it appears that she failed to handle the matter properly. Instead of calling 911 and reporting the death, she panicked, and placed the little body in a cooler. At this stage of the investigation, as the autopsy failed to indicate the cause of death, NOTHING shows that the child did not die naturally from ISDS (Instant sudden death syndrome.) The police have no indication of any foul play, and are waiting for the blood results to see if there is any other reason why the baby could have died. This could take weeks. So at this stage, what do we have? A baby who died for an unknown reason and a baby sitter with a low I.Q. who did not react in a way society would expect one to react in the same situation. She is charged at this point with child neglect, and improper disposal of a human body, and the bond was set at $5,000.00, per the schedule. The child neglect is not supported by any evidence, and is therefore pure speculation.
Now, a Brevard county judge raised the bond from $5,000.00 to $150,000.00 which will preclude Carolyn to get out of jail until someone determines if she committed any serious crime at all, as at this stage of the game, the only mistake she made was to dispose improperly of the body of a baby, a 2nd degree misdemeanor for which people would usually be released on their own recognizance.
Somewhere I read that in our country, we were considered innocent until proven guilty… and innocent people should not be locked in jail unless they represent a danger to society or are unlikely to show up in court… I don’t see either applying to this case.
Baby's cause of death unknown
Suspect's sister disputes charges
BY J.D. GALLOP • FLORIDA TODAY • January 26, 2011
Janelle Richardson planned to celebrate last week as she turned 21. But by Friday, family members say the young Titusville mother of two children grew increasingly worried after a longtime family friend and baby sitter who was caring for her 7-month-old could not be reached.
"Janelle was crying before I even took her to the police department," said 31-year-old Latanya Burch, Richardson's cousin.
A day after baby sitter Carolyn Renee Miller led Titusville Police to the body of Ja'Veon Mitchell, an autopsy Tuesday did not provide investigators with any firm determination of what led to the boy's death.
The review of Ja'Veon's death, however, continues to be an "active homicide investigation," Lt. Todd Hutchinson of the Titusville Police Department said in a statement.
Miller was charged Monday with child neglect and improper disposal of human remains hours after telling police that Ja'Veon died in her care. Family members say Ja'Veon was left with Miller on Tuesday so the child's mother could celebrate her 21st birthday.
Police said additional charges could depend on results from toxicology reports, which could be returned within two weeks.
Miller told police during more than six hours of questioning that, instead of calling authorities for help, she wrapped the baby's body in a sheet and put him in a small cooler. Police said she then took the cooler to her boyfriend's home on Deleon Avenue and hid it in the backyard.
"It's really a sad situation all around. But I know my sister and she's being railroaded in every sense of the word," said Lisa Madden, who talked with a tearful Miller the day she was being interrogated by detectives. "Maybe she panicked. She said she woke up and the baby was dead. She was scared. When a thing like that happens, I wouldn't know what to do."
Police said Ja'Veon's mother, identified as the 21-year-old Richardson, would frequently allow Miller to keep the child for days at a time.
Madden said Miller, who has no known address, had kept Ja'Veon on and off since he was born. Madden said Ja'Veon was Richardson's second child and that Miller offered to baby-sit the boy, sometimes at her home.
Court records show Miller has had run-ins with the law. She was arrested twice in 2004 on drug possession charges, once in 2006 for breach of the peace and once in 2008 for petit theft. But Madden said that was only one side of Miller's story.
"Everybody knows my sister would keep all the children in the neighborhood . . . for years," Madden said.
Madden said Richardson also was friends with Miller's 15-year-old daughter. Miller also has a 17-year-old son who lives in Georgia with his father.
"My sister is just a sweet, loving person, and she'd be right here with that baby in my house. Sometimes she'd have to call Janelle and say, 'The baby needs milk.' All I could think was Janelle needs to come get her baby," Madden said.
Richardson was searching for Miller by Friday and confronted Miller's daughter. Richardson's cousin Burch took her to the police department Sunday to file a report.
"I found Miller and I asked her where my cousin's baby was. . . . She said she didn't have the baby and hadn't seen her for two weeks. She just kept lying and lying," Burch said.
"I really don't know what happened. We've known (Renee) for a long time. . . . I just don't want to think that she did this. Something just had to go wrong."
"(Richardson is) OK and as well as can be expected," Burch said, adding that the grieving mother was staying with relatives in Titusville.
"It's sad on all sides," Burch said.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A Brevard County judge increased the bail on Tuesday for a Titusville baby sitter who was jailed in connection with the death of an infant.
Carolyn Miller's bail was raised to $150,000, which is up from just over $5,000, on charges of child neglect and the improper disposal of a human body. A public defender objected to the increase and said the bail is "far in excess" of the typical bail imposed for such charges.
After an autopsy on the body of JaVeon Brushan, 7 months old, police announced the cause of death is still undetermined. Authorities are awaiting the results of toxicology tests that could take several weeks.
JaVeon's body was found Monday in a cooler in the back yard of a home on DeLeon Street in Titusville. Miller had been baby-sitting the child since Thursday.
Police said she told them the child died mysteriously while Miller was napping on Friday. She did not report the death, police said, but instead disappeared until police located her Monday.
Police said in a statement Tuesday they will no longer discuss the case for fear the release of information could jeopardize the investigation.
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