Top inset: Samantha Sebella. Bottom inset: Steven Valle (Jasper County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Wheatfield, Indiana, home where cops found bone fragment of two children (WGN/YouTube).
A mother and father from Indiana are behind bars after they allegedly killed their two children and then burned their bodies in a firepit in the backyard.
Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, are facing charges of murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, abuse of a corpse and failure to report a dead body.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said deputies began investigating Sept. 20 after someone allegedly confessed to friends about killing two children and burning their bodies at their home in Wheatfield. Cops referred to the dead children as “undocumented,” meaning they were likely born at home and never received any documentation like a birth certificate, social security number and the like.
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Detectives found Valle and Sebella at a hotel in Newton County. They denied any knowledge but cops took their phones as evidence. Deputies obtained new information but the parents continued to claim innocence, cops said. Meanwhile, a third undocumented child was removed from their custody.
On Sept. 30, the Sheriff’s Office, Indiana State Police, Jasper County Coroner’s Office along with two cadaver dogs descended upon the property in Wheatfield where Valle and Sebella used to live. The couple had reportedly been evicted from the property earlier this year.
“With the cooperation of the landowner and the current residents, the search began, and the cadaver dogs alerted to three separate locations on the property. A preliminary search at these locations uncovered partial bone fragments,” deputies wrote.
Cops took the bone fragments to a specialist in Indianapolis for testing to determine if they were from an infant or animal. The bones were determined to be human, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators once again interviewed Valle and Sebella on Thursday where “new information came to light.” A judge found there was enough to arrest Valle and Sebella on Friday, according to records. Deputies took them to the Jasper County Detention Center where they remain without bond.
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