SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Prosecutors charged a woman Tuesday with desecrating a body in the case of a Utah baby sitter who vanished in September and was found dead in a shallow grave a month later.
The charge was filed against Dea Millerberg by Weber County Attorney Dee Smith, who plans a news conference later in the day.
Alexis Rasmussen had been babysitting for Millerberg and her husband Eric in North Ogden on Sept. 10 — the night she vanished. The 16-year-old's body was found Oct. 18 off a nearby interstate after authorities received a tip.
The husband has not been charged in the case.
A search warrant issued for an Oct. 9 search of the Millerberg's residence quoted people saying the couple knew what happened to the girl and made an effort to dispose of her body.
The warrant — initially made public but later sealed by a judge — said Rasmussen was paid in drugs the night she disappeared.
One person told authorities the Millerbergs had a drug-fueled, salacious relationship with the 16-year-old girl, the document states.
The Millerbergs were arrested in October on separate drug charges stemming from the investigation.
Eric Millerberg has since been sent to prison on a probation violation. Dea Millerberg had been released on bond pending a May 24 trial on charges of prescription drug fraud and child endangerment.
Dea Millerberg's defense lawyer, Michael Bouwhuis, did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday. A call to a public defender who previously represented Eric Millerberg also was not returned.
Smith has said only that Rasmussen died in a house on or around Sept. 11 and that her body was moved to a grave near Interstate 84, about 35 miles from North Ogden.
The Standard-Examiner of Ogden has reported that, according to the warrant, Dea Millerberg drove the girl to buy $100 worth of prescription medication and a small amount of marijuana on the night she vanished.
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