Miana was the 14 year old daughter of Randy L. and Mary James Stewart. She was a freshman at Musselman High School where she was a member of the FFA, the basketball team, the Bible Club, Builders Club, and Spanish Club. She was a member of Gerrardstown Presbyterian Church and the youth group. She played the clarinet and the violin and loved her unique name, her church and its members, her home state - she became mad if someone made a joke about West Virginia - and her school, where she recently attended her homecoming dance. She had a passion for horseback riding.
Surviving with her parents of Gerrardstown, are her grandparents, Gerald Bennett of Inwood, W.Va., Mary C. Stewart of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Rebecca James of Hedgesville, W.Va.; and her great-grandmother, Hilda Brown of Martinsburg.
She will be remembered as a young girl who used to bring her stuffed animals to church to introduce them to her minister, A student who built a friendship with her church's youth leader on an agreement that swapped cooking lessons for riding lessons, and a fiercely proud child of West Virginia, who friends say refused to brook criticism of the state she dearly loved. Miana's father said, "I believe if everyone had a little more of Miana in them the world would be a better place."
Miana came home from school on the evening of Oct. 13th to find Roger Dwayne Smith burglarizing her home. Smith was a convicted sex offender. When she got home, Smith bound and gagged her and took her to the basement while he continued to ransack the home. Miana's mother arrived home shortly after and Smith beat her with a baseball bat before bounding and gagging her and putting her in the basement with Miana. Mrs. Stewart escaped and ran to a neighbor's house for help. While Mrs. Stewart was gone, Smith strangled Miana to death.
Surviving with her parents of Gerrardstown, are her grandparents, Gerald Bennett of Inwood, W.Va., Mary C. Stewart of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Rebecca James of Hedgesville, W.Va.; and her great-grandmother, Hilda Brown of Martinsburg.
She will be remembered as a young girl who used to bring her stuffed animals to church to introduce them to her minister, A student who built a friendship with her church's youth leader on an agreement that swapped cooking lessons for riding lessons, and a fiercely proud child of West Virginia, who friends say refused to brook criticism of the state she dearly loved. Miana's father said, "I believe if everyone had a little more of Miana in them the world would be a better place."
Miana came home from school on the evening of Oct. 13th to find Roger Dwayne Smith burglarizing her home. Smith was a convicted sex offender. When she got home, Smith bound and gagged her and took her to the basement while he continued to ransack the home. Miana's mother arrived home shortly after and Smith beat her with a baseball bat before bounding and gagging her and putting her in the basement with Miana. Mrs. Stewart escaped and ran to a neighbor's house for help. While Mrs. Stewart was gone, Smith strangled Miana to death.
Miana was the 14 year old daughter of Randy L. and Mary James Stewart. She was a freshman at Musselman High School where she was a member of the FFA, the basketball team, the Bible Club, Builders Club, and Spanish Club. She was a member of Gerrardstown Presbyterian Church and the youth group. She played the clarinet and the violin and loved her unique name, her church and its members, her home state - she became mad if someone made a joke about West Virginia - and her school, where she recently attended her homecoming dance. She had a passion for horseback riding.
Surviving with her parents of Gerrardstown, are her grandparents, Gerald Bennett of Inwood, W.Va., Mary C. Stewart of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Rebecca James of Hedgesville, W.Va.; and her great-grandmother, Hilda Brown of Martinsburg.
She will be remembered as a young girl who used to bring her stuffed animals to church to introduce them to her minister, A student who built a friendship with her church's youth leader on an agreement that swapped cooking lessons for riding lessons, and a fiercely proud child of West Virginia, who friends say refused to brook criticism of the state she dearly loved. Miana's father said, "I believe if everyone had a little more of Miana in them the world would be a better place."
Miana came home from school on the evening of Oct. 13th to find Roger Dwayne Smith burglarizing her home. Smith was a convicted sex offender. When she got home, Smith bound and gagged her and took her to the basement while he continued to ransack the home. Miana's mother arrived home shortly after and Smith beat her with a baseball bat before bounding and gagging her and putting her in the basement with Miana. Mrs. Stewart escaped and ran to a neighbor's house for help. While Mrs. Stewart was gone, Smith strangled Miana to death.
Surviving with her parents of Gerrardstown, are her grandparents, Gerald Bennett of Inwood, W.Va., Mary C. Stewart of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Rebecca James of Hedgesville, W.Va.; and her great-grandmother, Hilda Brown of Martinsburg.
She will be remembered as a young girl who used to bring her stuffed animals to church to introduce them to her minister, A student who built a friendship with her church's youth leader on an agreement that swapped cooking lessons for riding lessons, and a fiercely proud child of West Virginia, who friends say refused to brook criticism of the state she dearly loved. Miana's father said, "I believe if everyone had a little more of Miana in them the world would be a better place."
Miana came home from school on the evening of Oct. 13th to find Roger Dwayne Smith burglarizing her home. Smith was a convicted sex offender. When she got home, Smith bound and gagged her and took her to the basement while he continued to ransack the home. Miana's mother arrived home shortly after and Smith beat her with a baseball bat before bounding and gagging her and putting her in the basement with Miana. Mrs. Stewart escaped and ran to a neighbor's house for help. While Mrs. Stewart was gone, Smith strangled Miana to death.
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