Couple arrested for travelling with 8-year-old daughter’s body in U-Haul trailer

Aleksander Kurmoyarov and Mandie Miller told police they wanted to ‘spend more time’ with their deceased daughter

A couple have been arrested on a homicide warrant after driving from Washington state to South Dakota with the body of their 8-year-old adoptive daughter in a U-Haul trailer, police say.

Aleksander Kurmoyarov, 28, and Mandie Miller, 33, were arrested on Thursday for homicide by abuse three months after the child died, according to a Mitchell Police Department Facebook post.

The couple had earlier been charged with failing to notify law enforcement of the death of a child, according to Dakota News Now.

A police report obtained by Dakota News Now, said the parents were arrested on Wednesday in Mitchell, South Dakota, after police learned they were towing the girl’s body to the Pine Ridge Native American reservation in South Dakota.

When questioned by police, the parents reportedly gave conflicting accounts of when their daughter had died.

Ms Miller told police she had died on 10 September at a property in Airway Heights, Washington,

Mr Kurmoyarov said she had died around Halloween, police said.

Aleksander Kurmoyarov and Mandie Miller carried the body of their 8-year-old daughter from Washington to South Dakota in a U-Haul trailer, authorities say (Davison County Sheriff's Office)

He said they didn’t seek medical attention because “wanted to spend more time with her and that he was afraid that they would get in trouble,” according to police.

Police in Mitchell said they were notified by the Davison County Coroner after the couple contacted their office on Wednesday.

Officers then located the couple at an address in Mitchell, where they had been for two days.

Authorities in both states are investigating.