Indiana man told police babies died naturally before he buried them, later burned bodies, court records say
RENSSELAER, Ind. (CBS) -- Chilling new details were released this week about a couple charged with murder after bone fragments were discovered in the backyard of a home in Wheatfield, Indiana.
Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, were appointed public defenders in Jasper County, Indiana court on Friday.
On Friday, Sept. 20, the Jasper County Sheriff's office got a tip that someone had killed their two children, and burned their corpses in the fire pit in the backyard of a Wheatfield home.
Citing an affidavit for probably cause, CBS affiliate WTTV in Indianapolis reported last week that police went to the home in the 4200 block of Old Orchard Lane in Wheatfield—only to find Valle no longer lived there. But a search with K9s did detect human remains, and bone fragments were dug up, authorities said.
Before the search, Valle and Sebella were found at a motel in Kentland, Indiana, according to the affidavit as reported by WTTV. Police believe Sebella is the mother of the children Valle is accused of killing.
Sebella and Valle allegedly told police they had one and only one child, for whom they did not have a birth certificate or any other documentation as it was a home birth, the station reported.
Meanwhile, a search of Sebella's phone suggested that Valle had killed more than one child and had cremated their bodies, according to court records as reported by WTTV.
One text message read: "You killed my kids cause you are a fa****, you never love me," while another read, "YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THERE [sic] DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER."
In another interview, Valle told police Sebella had given birth to a boy in 2018—but claimed he came home to find Sebella in a passed out with the baby lying between her legs, according to court records as reported by WTTV. When he found the baby was not breathing, he put the baby in a blanket and a box and buried the child in the backyard after three days, court records said.
Valle said a second child was born in a bathtub while he was at work, and the child was dead and wrapped in a blanket when he got home—so he buried that child in the backyard too, according to court records are reported by the station.
Valle also told police the children had been buried for three to five years in the backyard before he dug them up and cremated them in the fire pit—using the ashes as a memento in a necklace.
Valle and Sebella are now charged with murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, obstruction of justice, and failure to report a dead body. All but the last count are felonies.