A couple in Indiana accused of burning their child’s bodies and making necklaces from the ashes have had the charges dropped while investigators continue to search for more evidence.
Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, were arrested in September 2024 after Valle allegedly confessed to friends about killing two children and burning their bodies in their backyard firepit.
In court on Wednesday, a judge dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning prosecutors may refile the case at a later date.
The case was dismissed because there was ‘no evidence that a crime occurred,’ according to Valle’s attorneys.
‘The cases against Steven Valle and Samantha Sebella were dismissed today, with the State being permitted to refile charges if they obtain new evidence,’ defense attorney Mark Van Der Molen told ABC 7.
‘Working in concert with Sebella’s talented attorney Brook Scheurich, we reviewed all material and have seen no evidence that a crime even occurred.’
‘It is our hope that this dismissal will put an end to this matter,’ he added.
However, Jasper County Prosecutor Jacob Taulman told Law & Crime they expect to refile the case once anthropologists continue to sift through ashes, debris and other material police uncovered.
Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, were arrested in September 2024 after Valle allegedly confessed to friends about killing two children and burning their bodies in their backyard firepit
‘The cases against Steven Valle and Samantha Sebella were dismissed today, with the State being permitted to refile charges if they obtain new evidence,’ defense attorney Mark Van Der Molen said
Jasper County Prosecutor Jacob Taulman said they expect to refile the case once anthropologists continue to sift through ashes, debris and other material police uncovered
He described the process as ‘difficult and tedious’ due to the small size of the material. Prosecutors are also continuing to comb through digital data.
‘We do intend to seek justice in this matter,’ Taulman told the outlet.
When deputies arrived at the parents’ Wheatfield home on September 20, they found ‘partial bone fragments’ that a specialist in Indianapolis was able to determine as being human.
The couple were then taken into custody in October and charged with murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, abuse of a corpse, obstruction of justice and failure to report a dead body.
Authorities say the couple initially denied any knowledge of children being burned in their backyard fire pit when deputies found them at a hotel in Newton County on September 20.
The couple admitted to having one child with no birth certificate or documentation because the child was born at home, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.
The couple also denied ever having had a miscarriage or stillbirth. Jasper County Health Department records had no documentation that indicated Sebella had ever given birth.
But police still took their cellphones, from which they were reportedly able to uncover numerous messages that indicated Valle killed and burned multiple children.
‘You killed my kids cause you are a f*****, you never loved me,’ one message read, according to court documents. ‘YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THERE (sic) DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER,’ another message between Sebella and Valle read
When deputies arrived at the parents’ Wheatfield home on September 20, 2024, they found ‘partial bone fragments’ that a specialist in Indianapolis was able to determine as human
‘You killed my kids cause you are a f*****, you never loved me,’ one message read, according to court documents.
‘YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THERE (sic) DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER,’ another message between Sebella and Valle read.
A third undocumented child was then taken from their custody, law enforcement said.
Then, on September 30, the sheriff’s office, Indiana State Police and the Jasper County Coroner’s Office, along with two cadaver dogs, descended on the Wheatfield home where they used to live. Valle and Sabella had reportedly been evicted from the property earlier this year.
The dogs flagged a fire pit and a pile of ashes near the garage, prompting investigators to excavate part of the backyard with shovels, and uncovering the bone fragments, according to Fox News.
By October 3, court documents show, Valle admitted that Sebella had given birth to a boy in 2018.
He told officers Sebella gave birth to the child while he was out, and claimed that when he returned home, he found Sebella passed out and the child was lying between her legs.
The child was not awake or breathing, Valle said, claiming he cleaned the newborn up, placed him in a blanket and put him in a box.
Police also say Valle told them the children had been buried for about three to five years before he dug them up and burned them in the firepit. He allegedly added he saved some of the ashes to make a necklace
Due to no evidence confirming a crime, both parties are not in custody after the dismissal of the case
Valle allegedly went on to say he buried the child in his backyard after three days because he ‘knew the child wouldn’t be coming back to life’.
The suspect proceeded to tell officers that Sebella got pregnant a second time and prematurely gave birth to a child in a bathtub while he was at work.
He said the child was dead and wrapped in a blanket when he got home and buried the child in the backyard near the first, according to court documents.
Police also say Valle told them the children had been buried for about three to five years before he dug them up and burned them in the firepit.
He allegedly added he saved some of the ashes to make a necklace.
As the investigation continued, officers learned that Valle and Sebella had been physically violent with each other and determined that Sebella did not take any actions to protect her two deceased children, her living child or herself from the violence.
Police also said she made no effort to notify authorities of the kids’ deaths, burials or burnings.
Due to no evidence confirming a crime, both parties are not in custody.
