Indiana babysitter charged with murder after leading police to area where he allegedly buried infant’s body

An Indiana babysitter who was taking care of an 11-month-old girl who then vanished is now charged in connection to the baby’s death.

On Aug. 30, Justin Miller was formally charged in Starke County with murder. Prosecutors there alleged he traveled to the county to bury the baby’s body in a wooded area after he woke up on Aug. 14 at a residence in Mishawaka, Marshall County, and discovered the child dead.

He also faces a charge in Marshall County of child neglect causing death.

As FrontPageDetectives previously reported, the baby’s parents, Kenneth Lain, 41, and Tiffany Coburn, 32, wanted to “take a break” and left the little girl with Lain’s cousin, Miller, on Aug. 12.

Three days later, on Aug. 15, the child’s father, Lain, reported the baby missing and police arrested Miller the following morning.

Miller told multiple conflicting stories about what happened to Mercedes but allegedly admitted to police on Aug. 18 that the child died in his care on Aug. 14. He then led investigators to where the infant’s body was buried.

An autopsy determined the baby’s death was a homicide by blunt force trauma to the head, the South Bend Tribune reported.

If convicted of murder, Miller would face between 45 years to life in prison.

Lain and Coburn, the infant’s parents, have each been charged with child neglect. Both have pleaded not guilty to the accusations against them and could face up to a maximum two and a half years in prison if found guilty.