What began as an endangered missing person alert for a 32-week pregnant Nebraska woman has turned into a homicide case, with police accusing the woman’s brother-in-law of killing her and her husband, even as investigators continue searching rural fields for their remains.
According to the Lincoln Police Department, 24-year-old Sterling James is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 26-year-old Hannah Neville and 27-year-old Roberto Tanner. James’ 22-year-old wife, Sayde Titus, is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting first-degree murder. Investigators say Neville and Tanner are presumed dead, but their bodies had not been located when charges were announced, and key questions about what happened and why remain unanswered.
From Missing Person Alert to Double Homicide Case
Neville was reported missing in mid-January after leaving Stromsburg, a small town roughly 65 miles northwest of Lincoln, to pick up her husband in the state capital. She was in her third trimester, and, according to an Endangered Missing Advisory issued by the Nebraska State Patrol, she had “missed vital medical appointments,” something friends and family considered highly unusual.
The advisory noted that Neville was last seen with Tanner and that she was believed to be driving her SUV, wearing a light blue Nike backpack. People who knew her told authorities they became alarmed when she failed to appear for prenatal visits, given that she had been described as excited and hopeful about the pregnancy.
On January 29th, the Nebraska State Patrol publicly announced that Neville’s SUV had been found abandoned in Lincoln. The vehicle, located on a cul-de-sac near the intersection of 39th Street and Cornhusker Highway, was engulfed in flames when discovered, and its interior was heavily damaged, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Officers would later connect the burned SUV to Neville after she could no longer be reached by phone.
At that time, authorities still treated Neville and Tanner as missing. That posture shifted, according to law enforcement statements, as investigators pulled together cellphone records, witness accounts, and search warrant results that, in their view, pointed toward homicide and a suspect close to the family.
Cellphone Data, Burned SUV, and a Search for Bodies
Investigators say Neville left Stromsburg on January 15th, planning to pick up Tanner in Lincoln. According to police, cellphone data and witness statements place the couple at the apartment shared by James and Titus shortly before 7 p.m. that evening. That apparent visit to the accused couple’s residence appears to be the last independently documented sighting of Neville and Tanner alive.
Police say Neville’s phone then left the apartment around 8 p.m. and traveled to another address in Lancaster County, where it remained until roughly 1:30 a.m. on January 16th. Authorities allege that Neville and Tanner moved to several additional locations afterward before their phones stopped transmitting entirely.
Later on January 16th, first responders found Neville’s SUV burning on the Lincoln cul-de-sac. At that point, officers did not yet realize that the vehicle belonged to the missing pregnant woman. By the time investigators tried to call Neville about the SUV, her phone service had been disconnected, according to police.
As the case intensified, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the secondary residence in Lancaster County, where Neville’s phone had reportedly pinged for several hours. On February 1st, officers executed that warrant and detained several individuals at the address, according to Lincoln police. Officials have not publicly detailed what, if anything, was recovered there, nor have they fully explained how that search led to the specific charges against James and Titus.
Separately, the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office announced investigative activity near a rural intersection, and the Lincoln Police Department confirmed that search teams were examining that area for the couple’s remains. Authorities indicated that Tanner had previously lived near the rural site, which they said helped guide the search zone. As of the latest public updates, investigators were still looking for evidence and human remains there.
Alleged Confession, Family Ties, and Open Questions
In an updated public statement, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that Neville and Tanner are now believed to be dead. Lincoln police went further, alleging that James provided a detailed admission. According to law enforcement accounts, James told investigators that he shot Neville and Tanner, resulting in the death of Neville’s unborn child, then burned their bodies and set Neville’s SUV on fire.
Officers have not released transcripts or recordings of that alleged confession. Instead, the information has come through police summaries. Authorities also allege that Titus assisted James after the killings, which forms the basis of the aiding and abetting charges against her. Police have not publicly described the specific conduct they attribute to Titus.
James is Tanner’s half-brother, and Neville was his sister-in-law, according to law enforcement. That family relationship, combined with the reported visit to James and Titus’ apartment immediately before the couple disappeared, forms a central part of the narrative presented by the police. However, investigators have not publicly outlined any motive, and they have not disclosed whether there were prior disputes, financial issues, or other conflicts involving the families.
Authorities have also not confirmed whether they believe the killings occurred at the apartment, at the second Lancaster County address, or somewhere else entirely. With the bodies still missing, forensic evidence such as autopsy findings, bullet trajectories, or gunshot residue patterns is not yet available to the public. That leaves a significant gap between the narrative based on cellphone data and James’ alleged statements, and the physical evidence that might eventually be presented in court.
Under Nebraska law, a first-degree murder charge typically requires proof of intent and deliberation. Prosecutors will ultimately have to support the counts against James and the aiding and abetting counts against Titus with evidence beyond the reported confession, including digital records, witness testimony, and any physical evidence recovered in searches.
For now, both defendants remain charged and in custody. They are presumed innocent unless and until they are found guilty in court. The investigation, according to multiple agencies, is ongoing, with officers continuing to search rural land, process electronic data, and follow up on leads.
Future court filings, including probable cause affidavits, motions, and any preliminary hearing testimony, are likely to reveal more about how investigators link the cellphone trail, the burned SUV, and the alleged confession to specific criminal acts. Until those records are public, and unless Neville and Tanner’s bodies are located, the central questions of precisely where the couple died, what prompted the violence, and how prosecutors will prove their case remain unresolved.
Sources
- Law & Crime: Elated Missing Pregnant Woman And Her Husband Were Murdered By The Male Victim’s Half-Brother, Police Say
- KETV: Coverage Of Hannah Neville Disappearance And Investigation
