KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A Kent County court approved a motion to modify the bond of a Sparta mother charged in the death of her 8-month-old baby.
Olivia Miller is charged with involuntary manslaughter and 2nd-degree child abuse in the baby's drowning death.
Miller appeared before a judge Thursday with a motion from her legal counsel to reduce her bond, which was previously set at $300,000 cash/surety. The judge approved motion by the defense to reduce the bond to $300,000 or 10% of that amount as long as the following terms and conditions were met:
- Miller must surrender her passport.
- The defendant will have no contact with Kenan Johnson (the baby's father and her ex-boyfriend).
- Miller must be fitted with a GPS monitoring system before released.
Miller will also need to meet the terms and conditions set for the previous bond amount of $300,000, which included:
- No unsupervised or contact with anyone under 18.
- Submit to testing of alcohol and recreational marijuana drugs and no misuse of prescription medication.
- No possession or purchase of a firearm.
After the hearing, Miller was taken back into custody by the bailiff. Her preliminary hearing is set for March 13 at 1:30 p.m.
The 8-month-old baby boy died in November of 2023 in Miller's home in Sparta Township.
On Nov. 22, 2023, first responders were called out to a home off 16 Mile Road Northwest near Kenowa Avenue in Sparta Township.
Deputies said a child was found in the bathtub inside the home.
First responders gave the child CPR and rushed the baby to the hospital. The child later died.
Court documents showed that detectives analyzed Miller's phone usage at the time of the baby's death and found that she had been using her phone in varying capacities for approximately 21 minutes leading up to the baby's death, with the longest break in use being 18 seconds.
Keenan Johnson, the father of the 8-month-old baby, is facing perjury charges in relation to an investigative subpoena.
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