Share
Rowan County authorities say a “substantial” number of tips from the public have helped them arrest two people in connection with the break-in at the house of a family that was burying a 1-year-old toddler after a drowning accident.
The sheriff’s office says Bobby Milam and his girlfriend, Jessica Williams, live next door to the family of Parker Munn, who drowned Sept. 11 after apparently falling into a neighbor’s decorative pond on Rockwood Drive near the town of Faith.
Milam and Williams have been charged with two felonies -- breaking and entering, and obtaining property by false pretense.
Detectives say several person items that belonged to the toddler were found burned in the back yard of Milam’s and Williams’ home.
The investigation began after Parker’s parents reported someone had burglarized their home on Rockwood Drive last weekend, during their son’s funeral. More than $4,000 worth of items -- including jewelry, a TV set, and clothing -- were stolen. Also taken were a Bible and other personal belongings from Parker Munn’s room.
“Detectives were able to obtain substantial assistance from concerned citizens, due to the nature of the crime,” said John Sifford, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
On Wednesday, authorities say, they received a tip that Milam and Williams had sold jewelry to a Rowan County precious metals dealer. They checked with the dealer and say the jewelry belonged to the toddler’s mother, Jessica Kepley.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for Milam’s and Williams’ residence Thursday and say they found more stolen property inside the home -- and a trash pile in the back yard. In the burned trash, deputies say, they found the remains of Parker Munn’s birth certificate book, a picture frame, and an angel ornament that had been in the little boy’s bedroom.
Deputies say they found the couple later Thursday night at a residence a short distance away and arrested them.
They are being held on $50,000 bond.
