Florida mom left kids home alone while on trip to Vegas, deputies say

Key points

• Irene Miller, 50, of Kissimmee, was arrested at Orlando International Airport and charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
• Deputies responded to a 911 call on Oct. 21 from a child reporting that her 9-year-old brother was injured by a falling dumbbell.
• Miller told deputies she was on a work trip to Las Vegas and had left on Oct. 18, with a babysitter who was not required to stay overnight.

A Central Florida mother faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm after deputies say she left her four children home alone for days while she traveled to Las Vegas. Irene Miller, 50, of Kissimmee, was arrested as she got off her flight at Orlando International Airport, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies received a 911 call just after 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 from a child who said her 9-year-old brother had been injured after a dumbbell fell onto his head. Responders found no adults present and four children, ages 14, 12, 11 and 9, unsupervised. The 9-year-old was taken to Celebration Hospital for treatment.

What the mother told deputies

Deputies contacted Miller, who said she was working in Las Vegas and was due to return on Oct. 23. Investigators said she had left on Oct. 18 and had arranged for a babysitter from Tampa to come in the morning to get the children ready for school and check on them after, but Miller said the babysitter was not required to stay overnight.

Arrest and aftermath

The injured 9-year-old boy was released from the hospital, and the children's father was contacted and agreed to take them to his home. Detectives made plans to meet Miller as she got off her flight from Las Vegas that Friday, and she was arrested as she exited the airplane. She was also booked at the Orange County jail.