2 arrested in Wheatfield after bone fragments found – NBC Chicago

Two people in northwest Indiana were arrested after bone fragments were found in the backyard of a home during an investigation into the possible murder of two undocumented children.

Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, were charged with murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, abuse of a corpse, obstruction of justice and failure to report a corpse, the Jasper County Sheriff's Department said Friday.

Warning: What follows may be disturbing to some readers.

According to police, a call was received on September 20 after a person allegedly confessed to acquaintances that he had killed two undocumented children and burned their bodies in the backyard of their Wheatfield home.

Multiple agencies, including the Jasper County Coroner's Office and Indiana State Police, assisted the Jasper County Sheriff's Office in the investigation, which is focused on a property in the 4200 block of Old Orchard Lane.

Investigators immediately launched an investigation, interviewing several people at a hotel in Newton County and seizing their cell phones.

Investigators found additional evidence on the mobile devices and a child who was in the individuals' care was taken into protective custody.

Officers then conducted a large-scale search of a property in Wheatfield and located three different locations on the property, some of which had bone fragments found, according to authorities. Those bone fragments were placed in the care of a specialist in Indianapolis who is working to determine whether they came from an infant or an animal, officials said.