Niles woman dies in prison

Published 8:32 am Thursday, August 6, 2015

A 25-year-old Niles woman died at a state prison and investigators are trying to figure out how it happened.

Kayla Renea Miller was found dead July 16 in a housing unit at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she was serving time for larceny.

Kayla Renea Miller

Kayla Renea Miller

The Michigan State Police is leading the investigation.

Shanon Banner, a spokesperson for the MSP, said the case is ongoing and that investigators are awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports, which could take weeks.

Banner said, although her office does not like to speculate until all evidence is gathered, there is no reason at this point to believe the death was suspicious.

Chris Gautz, a public information officer for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said he knows that investigators are exploring the possibility that drugs might have played a role in Miller’s death, although nothing yet has been determined.

Gautz said it is rare for a person of Miller’s age to die in prison and that most deaths in prison occur from old age, cancer or other illnesses.

Gautz said protocol dictates that the MSP be brought into investigate cases like this.

According to public records obtained from MDOC’s Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), Miller was sentenced to 15 months in prison on one count of uttering and publishing and one year in prison on one count of larceny in a building.

She was sentenced Aug. 11, 2014.