An Indiana couple is behind bars accused of a heinous crime against their own children.
Jasper County authorities alleged that Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, killed and burned their two undocumented children in a firepit at a Wheatfield home.
The investigation began on Sept. 20 when one of the parents confessed to a friend that they killed the two children and burned their bodies.
Police located the couple, who had been evicted from the Wheatfield residence, at a hotel in Newton County.
While they denied the allegations and maintained innocence, police obtained new evidence from their phones.
A third undocumented child found with Valle and Sebella was removed from their custody.
On Sept. 30, investigators with the Sheriff’s Office, The Indiana State Police, Jasper County Coroner’s Office, and two cadaver dog units went to the Wheatfield residence to look for the children’s remains.
“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,” authorities said.
“A preliminary search at these locations uncovered partial bone fragments.”
The bone fragments were confirmed as human. The parents were questioned a second time Thursday and “new information came to light.”
The couple was charged with murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, abuse of a corpse, and failure to report a dead body.
