JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (TCN) — A 31-year-old man and 25-year-old woman face murder and other charges after investigators found several bone fragments in a burn pile in a home’s backyard.
According to WXIN-TV, on Sept. 20, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from someone who allegedly claimed Steven Valle told them he killed his children and burned their bodies in his yard. Investigators and cadaver dogs went to the home in Wheatfield and reportedly discovered ashes and fragments near a fire pit and elsewhere on the property. The bones were sent to a lab to determine whether they belonged to humans or animals.
Valle and the second suspect, Samantha Sebella, reportedly did not live at that address anymore. WGN-TV reports Sebella and Valle were evicted from the home and were ordered to leave by July 1. A disabled veteran moved into the home in September.
Investigators located Sebella and Valle at a motel in Kentland and spoke with them about their children, according to WXIN. They reportedly said they had one child together and that child did not have any documents like a birth certificate because Sebella gave birth at home. Investigators seized Sebella’s phone and allegedly found text messages between her and Valle that reference the deceased children.
One message reportedly read, “You killed my kids because you are a f—-t, you never loved me.”
Another said, “YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THERE [sic] DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER.”
During an interview with investigators, Valle reportedly told police Sebella had a child in 2018, but the baby boy was not breathing. Valle allegedly said he put the baby in a box and left it in the backyard. He buried the box three days later because he “knew the child wouldn’t be coming back to life.”
Valle allegedly said Sebella gave birth to another child, who was premature and died. He also buried the newborn in the yard. Both births reportedly occurred at home without documentation.
WXIN reports Valle admitted he burned the bodies after they had been in the yard for about three to five years. He allegedly kept some ashes to make a necklace. Court documents cited by WXIN allege Valle smothered the first child and drowned the second.
According to WLS-TV, another child was put in the custody of the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Valle and Sebella were arrested on Friday, Oct. 4, on charges of murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, abuse of a corpse, and obstruction of justice. Sebella is facing an additional charge of failure to report a dead body.