A court document provided slightly more information on where an infant’s remains were found last week in a house in Ohio County, and the four individuals charged in the case were arraigned in court Monday.
On Friday, Kentucky State Police confirmed an infant’s remains consistent with missing 8-month-old Miya Rudd were found at the Rudd residence in Reynolds Station. KSP Public Information Officer Trooper Corey King said on Friday investigators moved their search to the inside of the residence at approximately 1:15 p.m., and that’s when they discovered the decomposed body “hidden in a concealed manner.”
According to a citation obtained by Owensboro Times, the KSP investigator located the remains inside a duffle bag in the front room of the house.
The document says KSP consulted with the Ohio County Commonwealth Attorney to determine the charges.
Friday evening, KSP announced that Tesla Tucker, 29, Cage C. Rudd, 30, Ricky J. Smith, 56, and Brodie C. Payne, 28, all of Reynolds Station, were each charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and failure of a person to report the death of a person.
They all appeared in court on Monday for their arraignments. As is standard for arraignments in Kentucky, “not guilty” pleas were entered by all four defendants on all charges. As the first court appearance following charges, an arraignment is largely procedural and the time at which the judge advises defendants of the charges brought against them.
All four people are scheduled to appear in court again on June 24.
On Friday, KSP Public Information Officer Trooper Corey King said he technically couldn’t confirm the remains belonged to Miya due to the decomposition and until the autopsy results but said based on all information available “this is probably her.” On Monday, he said they were still waiting on DNA results for that confirmation.
Read the story about KSP finding the remains here. You can also go here for our detailed coverage about the investigation to this point, including a timeline of arrests and charges.
