PENNSYLVANIA -- A Hazleton woman convicted in the 2002 starvation death of her 18-year-old son, Chester Miller, now faces animal cruelty charges.
Luzerne County Animal Control Officer Wayne Harvey said 47-year-old Lyda Miller and her boyfriend, Michael Gozlan, 30, were cited after Harvey found an emaciated 5-month-old puppy at their home in Hazleton. Court dockets indicate Gozlan has been charged in the past for animal cruelty.
The new summary charges for animal cruelty were filed against Miller and Gozlan on Monday. Both will be notified of the charges via summons, according to a court docket.
Harvey said he was called to the couple's home in August after someone reported suspected animal abuse. Harvey said he found a pit bull mix puppy named Rusty emaciated and dirty, covered in skin burns from urine.
The dog was removed from the home and is doing well, Harvey said. Rusty will not be available for adoption unless Miller and Gozlan are convicted and their appeal time has elapsed.
Miller and Gozlan must answer the citations before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola. No hearing date was scheduled as of Thursday.
On Sept. 19, 2002, Lyda Miller's then-boyfriend, Paul Hoffman Sr., sent Chester Miller on a bus to find and live with his natural father in Florida. Chester died in a Florida hospital six days later from chronic malnutrition. He was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 100 pounds, a medical examiner said at the time.
Lyda Miller pleaded guilty in 2003 to involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to one to two years in prison but was granted early parole and placed under house arrest after serving about nine months. Hoffman, now 48, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in 2004 for Chester's death and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
Authorities said Hoffman starved and abused Chester. Lyda Miller told investigators she feared Hoffman, whom she said prevented her from feeding her son in a starvation case that received national media attention.
Gozlan was charged with animal cruelty multiple times in Schuylkill County, according to court records.
In a May 2005, Kline Township police began investigating Gozlan when they watched him walk two emaciated dogs on a township street. Police said they found two flea-infested cats in backpacks. Police said they found another dog, which was reported missing by its owner, inside Gozlan's home.
He pleaded guilty to a theft charge in that case and was sentenced to probation with community service, a court docket states. Multiple counts of animal cruelty were dropped by the prosecution, according to court papers.
In June 2005, Kline Township police filed several animal cruelty citations against Gozlan, who pleaded guilty.
In November 2011, an animal cruelty citation was filed against Gozlan in Luzerne County at Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola's office.
If Gozlan is found guilty or pleads guilty to the most recent animal cruelty case, the charge would be upgraded to a misdemeanor due to his prior incidents of the same crime, Harvey said.
(Citizens Voice - Sept 14, 2012)
