The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office are investigating the discovery on Monday of bone fragments buried at a Wheatfield residence that could be the burned remains of two undocumented children, according to a joint release from both offices.
The sheriff’s office received a report the morning of Sept. 20 that an individual had allegedly confessed to acquaintances about killing two of their undocumented children and burning their bodies in a backyard fire pit at their residence in Wheatfield, according to the release.
Detectives from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation and located the suspect(s) at a hotel in Newton County and conducted interviews. Although the suspect(s) denied any involvement, their cellular devices were seized as evidence and detectives uncovered additional information.
With the discovery of new details, detectives sought out the suspect(s) again. When confronted with the new findings, the suspect(s) continued to deny knowledge of the incident. At this point, the undocumented child who was in their care was taken into protective custody by the Indiana Department of Child Services.
On Monday morning, detectives, alongside personnel of the Jasper County Coroner’s Office, Indiana State Police, Wheatfield Police Department, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, conducted a search of the property in Wheatfield with the assistance of two cadaver dogs.
The search took place with the cooperation of the landowner and the current residents and the cadaver dogs alerted to three separate locations on the property. A preliminary search at these locations uncovered partial bone fragments.
The bone fragments were transported on Tuesday to a specialist in Indianapolis for analysis to determine if they were from an infant or an animal. Further investigation of the property is pending the results of this analysis.
Anyone who has information they feel may be relevant to the investigation is asked to contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at (219) 866-7334 and ask to speak with one of the department’s detectives.