A northwest Indiana couple have been arrested after bone fragments were found in an Indiana backyard where they once lived.
Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, have been charged with murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, obstruction of justice, and failure to report a dead body, WBBM reported.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office has not explained the relationship with the children, said to be infants, and the two adults arrested. The bones found in the backyard were determined to be human.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the fragments were sent to a crime lab for analysis.
The sheriff’s office began its investigation on September 20 when a witness reported to investigators that someone had confessed to them that they had killed two children and burned their bodies in a Wheatfield backyard. The sheriff’s office called the two children “undocumented” but did not explain what it meant by that loaded phrase: It appears that they may have meant the children’s births were likely not at a hospital and were unregistered.
Investigators found Valle in a hotel in Newton County, and he denied any involvement in the deaths of any children, WFLD reported. Valle’s cell phone was taken as evidence, however. Meanwhile, on September 30, cadaver dogs found bone fragments at three locations at the home where the couple formerly lived. Valle and Sebella reportedly lived at the home until they were evicted earlier this year. The homeowner and current residents were cooperating with the investigation.
Last week, investigators conducted follow-up interviews with the suspects, during which “new information came to light,” and Valle and Sebella were arrested. A child in their custody was taken into protective custody by the state Department of Child Services. That child was born at home and was also “undocumented.
Valle and Sebella are being held without bond, Law&Crime said.
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[Featured image: Steven Valle and Samantha Sebella/Jasper County Sheriff’s Office]
