A death investigation in northwest Indiana took a horrifying turn on Tuesday after officials revealed they were looking into the possible murder of two undocumented children.

Multiple agencies, including the Jasper County Coroner’s Office and the Indiana State Police, are assisting the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation, which is centered around a property in Wheatfield.

Warning: What follows may be disturbing to some readers.

According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, a call was received on Sept. 20 after an individual allegedly confessed to acquaintances about killing two undocumented children and burning their bodies in the backyard of their residence.

Detectives immediately launched an investigation, and interviewed multiple individuals at a Newton County hotel, seizing their cell phones.

Detectives located additional evidence on the mobile devices, and a child that was in the care of the individuals was placed into protective custody.

Officials then launched a widescale search on a property in Wheatfield, locating three separate locations on the property where partial bone fragments were found, according to authorities.

“I seen a coroner putting up caution tape, and CSI vans, and a lot of digging,” neighbor Monica Prentice said.  

Those bone fragments are now in the custody of a specialist in Indianapolis, who is working to determine if they were from an infant or an animal, according to officials.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 219-866-7334.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the first time since the 2021 season, five former Indiana baseball players played at least one game for a Major League Baseball team in 2024.

Two of them are pegged to be significant contributors for their clubs as the baseball playoffs begin.

The playoffs start on Tuesday, but Indiana’s two expected playoff contributors won’t begin until the Divisional Series round as their teams received byes as one of the top two division champions in the their respective leagues.

One former Indiana standout is familiar. Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had one of his finest seasons in 2024.

Schwarber hit 38 home runs, had 104 RBI and hit .248 for the Phillies, taking part in 150 games for the NL East champions.

While he crested the 40-home run mark in both 2022 and 2023 for the Phillies, Schwarber’s .248 batting average was his best since he hit .266 while splitting the 2021 season between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox.

Schwarber had a career-high 3.5 WAR by baseball-reference.com’s definition of the advanced statistic. His previous best was a 2.3 for the Chicago Cubs in 2019 and the Phillies in 2022.

In addition to his on-field exploits, Schwarber is the Phillies’ nominee to win the coveted Roberto Clemente Award.

Schwarber has been stronger in the playoffs than he typically is in the regular season. His career playoff batting average is .245, 15 points better than his regular season career average. Schwarber hit 5 home runs in 7 games for the Phillies in their 2023 NLCS series against Arizona.

He also hit 6 home runs in Philadelphia’s 2022 World Series championship run. Schwarber also hit 5 home runs as a rookie in 2015 during the Chicago Cubs’ playoff journey.

Schwarber, a Middletown, Ohio native, played at Indiana from 2012-14, helping the Hoosiers reach the College World Series in 2013.

The Phillies will start their playoff run on Saturday as they will host the winner of the Milwaukee Brewers-New York Mets Wild Card Series. That NLDS series will be televised on Fox or FS1.

Another former Hoosier who will have an important postseason role is Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Tim Herrin.

Herrin had a breakout season for the Guardians. Part of the best bullpen in baseball with a 2.57 ERA, Herrin was lights out. He had an ERA of 1.95 in 75 appearances for Cleveland. His WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched) was an outstanding 0.975. Herrin struck out 68 batters in 65 2/3 innings.

Herrin was at the front end of the Guardians’ bullpen as he usually entered the game in the sixth or seventh inning. Herrin had 16 holds for the Guards.

Herrin, a Terre Haute, Ind. native, is in his second season at the Major League level. He improved dramatically from his rookie campaign in 2023 when he had a 5.53 ERA in 23 appearances.

Herrin pitched for Indiana from 2016-18. He had a career ERA of 3.44 for the Hoosiers.

The Guardians begin their American League playoff journey on Saturday as they host the winner of the Detroit Tigers-Houston Astros Wild Card Series. That ALDS series will be televised on TBS.

One other former Hoosier, pitcher Scott Effross, pitched for the New York Yankees in 2024. He appeared in three games, most recently in a Friday contest against Pittsburgh. Effross is a long shot to make the Yankees’ postseason roster. The Yankees begin their ALDS series against either Baltimore or Kansas City on Saturday. Effross played for the Hoosiers from 2013-15.

Two other former Hoosiers who played in 2024 won’t take part in the postseason.

Pitcher Tanner Gordon made eight starts for the Colorado Rockies in 2024. He finished with an 0-8 record and an 8.65 ERA for a 101-loss Rockies team. Gordon played at Indiana in 2019.

Andrew Saalfrank, who played at Indiana from 2017-19, made 2 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the season, but Saalfrank wouldn’t have played a part anyway. He was banned by Major League Baseball in June for a year for violating MLB’s sports gambling rules.

INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps the least discussed Indiana Pacers addition from the offseason was the signing of 25-year old wing Cole Swider. The sweet-shooting forward agreed to a one-year deal with the Pacers back in August.

Swider, a two-year NBA pro who has experience with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, went under the radar as a signing for many reasons. He agreed to a contract late in free agency, he isn’t a well-known name, and he might not even make the team.

That final point is what makes the agreement fascinating. Swider signed a one-year deal with the Pacers, and none of his contract is guaranteed. Yet there is no Exhibit 10 language in his deal — that means Swider can’t get a two-way deal and likely won’t end up in the G League if he’s waived. The Rhode Island native is betting on himself to make the Pacers final 15-man roster.

During his career, Swider has averaged 2.0 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game in 5.1 minutes per night. He’s appeared in 25 games across two seasons. Most of his performances in the pros have come in the G League, and he’s been a flamethrower at that level. Swider is 193/429 (45%) from deep. His averages are 19.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the G League.

Now, he comes to Indiana, and he will hope that shooting finally translates to the highest level. In his NBA time, only 34.2% of his outside shots have fallen so far. But if they do for the Pacers, then he’ll have a chance to make the team.

Swider’s signing does signal that there will be a battle for the final roster spot(s) in the Circle City. Were the Pacers comfortable with their top-15 talents, they wouldn’t have added someone else into the mix this summer. Yet they did, and the back end of the Pacers roster will be a storyline throughout training camp.

Swider isn’t the only player in Pacers camp on a contract that isn’t fully guaranteed for the coming season. James Johnson, who was signed in late July, has $750,000 guaranteed on his deal for 2024-25. The recently-added James Wiseman has $500,000 guaranteed, and Kendall Brown’s deal is fully non-guaranteed until opening night. Many players, including Swider, will be doing everything they can to earn money.

“Competition is a great thing. It, presumably, brings out the best in everybody,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Monday. “This team has got a lot of depth and a lot of juice and a lot of guys that are going to be ready to play.”

While it’s possible all four players with non- or lightly-guaranteed contracts are battling to make Indiana’s final roster, it’s more likely that the final spot on the team will come down to Brown or Swider. Not only do Johnson and Wiseman have some guaranteed money in their contracts that Indiana would have to eat if they were waived, but those two also have more obvious roles within the team.

Brown has been with the blue and gold for the last two seasons, first on a two-way contract then a standard NBA deal. He entered the offseason the favorite to be the Pacers 15th man, but an unimpressive summer league showing hurt his stock. The athletic 21-year old has the tools to be a useful player in the open floor and on defense, but those skills haven’t surfaced yet. And Brown hasn’t been efficient enough as a play finisher to offset his lack of ability elsewhere.

The Baylor product is still a fascinating talent. He’s tall, fast, and extremely athletic. Indiana liked him enough to draft him 48th overall in 2022. But now, he and Swider are likely competing for a spot on the Pacers roster.

It’s possible that neither player makes the team. If they are both unimpressive during training camp, they could both get cut. Indiana could keep the spot open, or perhaps two-way contract forward Enrique Freeman keeps playing inspired basketball, like he did in summer league, and earns a promotion to the standard roster. There are many ways Indiana could opt to go.

The Swider signing means that there will be a battle, though. A few guys will be hoping to prove they belong on the Pacers roster once the regular season comes, and the early signs are that it could come down to Swider’s shooting vs Brown’s athleticism. It will be decided on the court during training camp and preseason action.