Court records have revealed new information on a death investigation: police have been working in Jasper County since September.
Police began investigating the activities of Steve Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25, on September 20. On that date, they received a report indicating that Valle informed an acquaintance that he had killed two of his children and burned them in a fire pit.
The investigation also suggested that Valle had smothered his first child and drowned his second.
After receiving the report, authorities rushed to a home in the 4200 block of Old Orchard Lane in Wheatfield, where Valle allegedly burned his children.
Valle had moved out of the house, according to law enforcement. On September 27, the current owner of the property permitted authorities to search the premises.
Police dispatched K9s specializing in the detection of human remains to the scene. According to court filings, the dogs identified a fire pit and a pile of ashes near a carport.
Investigators used shovels to unearth areas of the site. During the excavation, they discovered what appeared to be bone fragments.
Indianapolis received the retrieved materials for evaluation. According to court documents, on October 1, an anthropologist determined that the findings were actually bone fragments. The anthropologist was unable to pinpoint the origin of the shards.
Additional testing was required to determine whether the fragments were human or animal as of the filing date.
Before searching the Orchard Lane residence, authorities tracked Valle and Sebella to the Kentland Motel in Kentland, Indiana. Police believe Sebella is the mother of the children Valle allegedly murdered.
Officers met with Sebella and Valle on September 20. At the time, both denied having more than one child. They also said they had never experienced a loss or stillbirth.
Police said that during the questioning, Sebella and Valle admitted to having one kid. They said they didn’t have a birth certificate for the child because the delivery took place at their home without any documentation.
Law enforcement did a records check with the Jasper County Health Department and discovered no evidence that Sebella had ever given birth.
As the investigation progressed, authorities grabbed Sebella’s phone. Eventually, they received a search warrant to examine the contents of the phone.
According to court records, authorities analyzed the phone and discovered many texts indicating Valle had killed and burned multiple children.
“You killed my kids because you are a fa****; you never loved me,” one note said.
Another message between Sebella and Valle said, “YOU KILLED OUR BABIES; I WILL HAVE THEIR DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER.”
On October 3, police conducted a second interview with Valle. During the talk, Valle revealed that Sebella gave birth to a male child in 2018.
He informed the authorities that Sebella gave birth while he was away from home. Valle stated that when he arrived home, Sebella had passed out and the infant was lying between her knees.
Because the infant was not conscious or breathing, Valle stated that he washed him up, wrapped him in a blanket, and placed him in a box. According to court filings, Valle stated that he buried the infant in his backyard after three days because he “knew the child wouldn’t be coming back to life.”
Valle then told authorities that Sebella had been pregnant a second time. He claimed that she gave birth prematurely in a bathtub while he was at work.
According to court filings, Valle reported finding the youngster dead and wrapped in a blanket when he arrived home. Valle claimed to have buried the second child in his backyard, near the first one.
Police said Valle told them the youngsters had been buried for 3-5 years before being dug up and burned in the fire pit. Valle also stated that he saved some of the ashes to create a memento necklace.
Valle reportedly told authorities that he searched through the ashes and discovered some small bone parts. He claimed to have swept up and placed the shards in an ash pile west of the garage.
As the investigation progressed, investigators discovered that Valle and Sebella had been known to assault each other. They also concluded that Sebella did nothing to shield herself, her two murdered children, or her living child from the abuse she and Valle perpetrated.
Police suspect Sebella made no effort to tell authorities about the children’s deaths, graves, or burnings.
Previous reports indicate the arrest of Valle and Sebella on October 3. They both face the same charges: murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, abuse of a corpse, obstruction of justice, and failure to report a deceased person.
FOX59 and CBS4’s sister station, WGN, earlier reported that the children reportedly killed were undocumented. The court documents received by FOX59 and CBS4 on Saturday appear to substantiate that report, since officers indicated they could not discover any medical or government records verifying the existence of the deceased children.
As of the publication of this report, no new information on the Valle and Sebella cases was available.
