News Releases

Suspect Arrested for Homicide of Infant

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department Major Crimes Division are investigating the homicide of a six-month-old girl, Miller "Millie" Lilliston of Rockville.  Investigators have charged Kia Divband, 35 years old, of Rockville, with second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree child abuse.

In the late morning of April 19, homicide detectives responded to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital (SGAH) for the report of an unresponsive infant who had been transported to the hospital.  Investigators determined that prior to arriving at the hospital, the child, Millie Lilliston, was in the care of Kia Divband at his licensed daycare.  Divband's daycare, Little Dreamers, is located at Divband's residence at 1603 Grandin Avenue in Rockville.

Detectives responded to Divband's residence and interviewed him.  Divband stated that Millie's parent had dropped her off at approximately 8:00 a.m. that morning (April 19) and that she took a nap. Divband stated that Millie woke up at 10:30 a.m. and while she was in her stroller, he began to feed her a bottle that contained six ounces of breast milk.  Divband stated that Millie drank approximately three ounces of milk and then started choking and vomiting.  When she stopped vomiting, Divband said he took her to the bathroom to clean her face.  At that time, Divband stated that he noticed that MIllie was unresponsive and that her lips had turned blue.

Divband stated that he performed three to four rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and yelled for his wife, who was upstairs in the home, to call 9-1-1.  Fire and Rescue personnel responded and transported Millie to SGAH.  Doctors noted subdural hematomas in her head, rib fractures, and multiple bruises on her face and body.  Millie was then flown by air to the Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) in the District of Columbia.

An examination by doctors at the Children's National Medical Center revealed additional injuries to include retinal hemorrhages, a fractured femur, and a fractured humerus.  All of the injuries were in various stages of healing and were classified as non-accidental, inflicted trauma.  Millie succumbed to her injuries three days later on April 22.

Millie's parents were interviewed at CNMC and reported that she had not been ill, and was in good health and condition when she was dropped off earlier that day.  Millie's parents had a photograph taken on April 18 that showed Millie with no facial bruising.  They also stated that Millie had no serious injuries prior to being placed in Divband's care.

On April 21, homicide detectives served a search warrant at the Little Dreamers daycare and Divband's residence.  Blood evidence was recovered in multiple locations in the daycare facility, including the stroller that Millie was seated in on April 19.  A trash can with bloodied baby wipes was located outside with the trash bins.  Investigators also noticed that Divband had removed Millie's name label from her belongings bin.

Medical reports from CNMC described Millie suffering from multiple inflicted injuries.  None of these were consistent with the choking event described by Divband but were consistent with repeated incidents of physical abuse.

On April 24, an autopsy was performed by the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.  That office ruled Millie's death  a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries.

Divband will have a bond review today at 1:00 p.m. in Rockville District Court.  He is currently being held on $2,000,000 bond.

# # #

Release ID: 16-103
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: homicide, press-releases