Couple who traveled to South Dakota with dead child arrested

Police in Mitchell, South Dakota said Thursday they were investigating a couple who traveled from Washington state with the body of a dead eight-year-old girl.

The police department said in a statement the couple had driven a U-haul trailer with a coffin containing the body of the girl, who had been adopted by the woman arrested. The couple had informed the Davison County Coroner that they were traveling from Washington state to Pine Ridge, according to the Mitchell Police Department.

The department said the man and woman, 28-year-old Aleksander Kurmoyarov and his girlfriend 33-year-old Mandie Miller, had told investigators that the girl died earlier in the fall, but gave different dates, South Dakota Public Broadcasting reported. The man arrested told investigators that they had not told authorities about the death because they wanted to spend more time with the girl and were concerned they would “get in trouble.”

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The Mitchell Police Department stated Thursday on Facebook both were charged with failing to notify law enforcement of the death of a child and the investigation is ongoing.

The department updated Facebook on Friday to state both parties had been arrested on a no-bond arrest warrant from Spokane, Washington, for homicide by abuse.

The Davison County Jail confirmed that the man and woman were being held. It was not clear whether they had legal representation.

− Argus Leader interim news director Shelly Conlon contributed to this story

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Couple who traveled to South Dakota with dead child arrested