Insets (left to right): Sterling James (Lincoln Police Department), Sayde Titus (Lincoln Police Department), Hannah Neville (Polk County Sheriff's Office), Roberto Tanner (Polk County Sheriff's Office). Background: A rural intersection near where Neville and Tanner are believed to be buried in Malmo, Neb. (Google Maps).
One Nebraska couple and their unborn child are dead while another couple is behind bars for the crime, police in the Cornhusker State say.
Sterling James, 24, stands accused of two counts of murder in the first degree in connection with the deaths of Hannah Neville, 26, and Roberto Tanner, 27, according to the Lincoln Police Department. James' wife, Sayde Titus, 22, stands accused of two counts of aiding and abetting.
The underlying incidents date back to mid-January, when Neville was reported missing and last seen in or around Stromsburg, a tiny town located some 65 miles northwest of Lincoln.
Hopes for a happy resolution dipped in late January, when the Nebraska State Patrol announced that Neville's SUV had been found abandoned, and in beyond dire straits, in Lincoln — 10 days after her cellphone last pinged near the city along Interstate 80.
Troopers noted she was last seen wearing "a light blue Nike backpack," was traveling with Tanner, and had "missed vital medical appointments" related to her pregnancy, according to an Endangered Missing Advisory issued Jan. 29.
The vehicle was found on a cul-de-sac near the intersection of 39th Street and Cornhusker Highway "engulfed in flames" and the interior "severely damaged," according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
At the time of her disappearance, the victim was 32 weeks pregnant, police said. Authorities later identified Tanner as her husband.
People who knew Neville grew concerned after she missed appointments because she had never done so before and was "excited and elated" about being pregnant, the sheriff's office said, according to Omaha-based ABC affiliate KETV.
This week, the sheriff's office reported that that missing couple are now believed to be dead, according to an updated press release.
On Monday, the police department said officers are working to locate the bodies, according to law enforcement sources cited by KETV.
On Jan. 15, Neville left Stromsburg to pick up her husband in Lincoln, police said. Witness statements and cellphone data placed the slain couple at the accused couple's apartment just before 7 p.m. later that same night, according to law enforcement.
After that, Neville's device left around 8 p.m and traveled to a different address in Lancaster County, where it remained until around 1:30 a.m., police said, again citing cellphone data. The victims then traveled to a few more locations the next day before their devices went offline.
On Jan. 16, the burning vehicle was found, though investigators only later realized who it belonged to. By the time police called Neville to ask her about her SUV, her phone was out of service, police said.
On Feb. 1, officers served a search warrant at the second residence where Neville's cellphone pinged on the night she disappeared. There, several people were detained, according to police.
While no details regarding a motive or similar have been released, police say James admitted to shooting Neville and Tanner, ultimately killing their unborn baby in the process. The male defendant is believed to have then burned their bodies and set Neville's vehicle on fire. Titus is alleged to have helped her boyfriend after the murders.
James is the half-brother of Tanner and Neville was his sister-in-law, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, according to law enforcement.
On Tuesday morning, the Saunders County Sheriff's Office announced activity near a rural intersection. The Lincoln Police Department confirmed investigators are searching the area for the victims' bodies in that location because Tanner previously lived nearby, according to Lincoln-based CBS affiliate KOLN.
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