Kanawha County parents indicted in 2022 child neglect case

ST. ALBANS, WV (WOWK) – Two people have been indicted on child neglect charges after what started as a missing persons investigation in 2022.

According to documents from Kanawha County Court, Phillip S. Duelley, 40, and Staci L. Mullins, 42, both of Charleston, were indicted in the case on July 25. They were residents of St. Albans at the time of the incident.

An indictment list from the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office states Duelley is charged with VUCSA (violation of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act), prohibited person in possession of a concealed firearm, prohibited person in possession of a firearm, fleeing on foot, and child neglect creating a substantial risk of bodily injury.

The indictment list states that Mullins has been charged with child neglect creating a substantial risk of bodily injury.

Both Mullins and Duelley are set to appear in court before Judge Maryclaire Akers at 9 a.m. on Aug. 9.

The charges stem from what started out as a report of a missing child, according to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

The KCSO says deputies were called in the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, to investigate a missing persons complaint that involved a 13-year-old juvenile with autism. Authorities say the child had left a home in the 100 block of 3rd Avenue in St. Albans.

Deputies say the child was found “several miles away” from the home, was not wearing shoes and was in inclement weather. A deputy went to the home and said they found it in “deplorable living conditions” and that the house had no running water, was littered with mud and trash and didn’t have a front door.

According to the KCSO, two small children also lived in the home. The deputy said they were “muddy and appeared not to have bathed in several days. All three children were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services. Duelley and Mullins were arrested.

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