INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis mother and her former boyfriend are now both in custody after a grand jury indictment for four counts of neglect in connection to missing child Amiah Robertson.
Robert Lyons, 23, turned himself in to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday, joining Amber Robertson, 23, who was arrested a few days earlier on Saturday.
The neglect charges stem from the 2019 disappearance of Amber’s then 8-month-old daughter Amiah Robertson.
Background on baby Amiah disappearance
Amiah Robertson disappeared on March 9, 2019, however Amber Robertson didn't report her 8-month daughter missing until March 16.
She told police she gave Amiah to her boyfriend at the time, Robert Lyons, and he was supposed to drop the child off at a babysitter's house.
During the search for baby Amiah, investigators combed several areas including the back deck of the babysitter's house. Some of the child's belongings ended up being found on the banks of Eagle Creek near McCarty Street.
The child's remains have not been found to this day.
What a witness revealed about the likely final days of baby Amiah
A woman who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of the final days of Amiah Robertson said she saw Amiah, Amber Robertson, Robert Lyons, and the babysitter at the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel near I-465 and Crawfordsville Road on March 8-9, 2019.
She also said she saw a camera that had a disturbing image of baby Amiah: the 8-month old child lying on a bed with her eyes closed and bruises covering the left side of her face.
The witness also told FOX59 the group left behind a pack-n-play and infant's car seat when they checked out of a trashed hotel room, signs that suggest something may have happened to baby Amiah at the hotel.
What's happening with court proceedings of Amber Robertson, Robert Lyons
Amber Robertson appeared in court on Tuesday where she entered a not guilty plea.
She also told the court she is currently pregnant, cares for three other children, has no assets or job and cannot afford an attorney. She was assigned a public defender.
Robertson is slated to go to a jury trial in November.
Robert Lyons is being held at the Adult Detention Center after turning himself in on Tuesday.
The two were indicted on four felony counts of neglect:
- neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury
- neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury
- neglect of a dependent with deprivation
- neglect of a dependent
The babysitter is expected to be one of several witnesses expected to testify in the upcoming trial.
If found guilty on all four counts, the maximum amount of time Robertson and Lyons could be sentenced to is 20.5 years.
Police have told FOX59 this remains an open investigation.
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