PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A months-long investigation spanning three counties has led to the arrest of a 23-year-old Putnam County woman on first-degree felony child abuse charges, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Hunter Miller was taken into custody following a warrant issued by a Putnam County judge. She has since been released on a $50,000 bond and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children.
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Case begins in St. Johns County
The case began in November 2025 when investigators say Miller brought the victim — a child less than 1 year old — to an emergency room in St. Johns County. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office alerted the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office that the child had sustained a broken arm, possibly at a Palm Coast residence during Thanksgiving.
According to investigators, Miller told deputies she was present when another person dropped the child on the floor. Investigators say that account proved to be false based on home surveillance footage.
Detectives uncover pattern of injuries: PCSO
Flagler County transferred the case to Putnam County detectives in January, who began investigating Miller and another individual she named as a possible suspect.
During the investigation, the child’s biological father told detectives he had discovered a series of medical reports documenting multiple past fractures. Medical records and a forensic analysis revealed the infant had sustained 10 potential fractures — more than one fracture per month during the child’s short life.
Following interviews with multiple sources, the person Miller had named as a suspect was cleared of any wrongdoing. Investigators determined that some of the child’s fractures had occurred before that individual had ever met the child.
“This case was full of deception and lies by the suspect in order to protect herself,” Putnam County Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “She pointed fingers at innocent people to disrupt their lives in a pattern that became all too familiar for her.”
“Sorting through those lies took time to ensure we got her away from the lives of the helpless she sought to destroy,” DeLoach continued. “The sad part of all of this is some people sought to protect her over this child. All I can say is — shame on them.”