Six Arrested in Missing Persons Homicide Investigation | 2026

Published on February 02, 2026

UPDATE (February 11) | The Lincoln Police Department has made four additional arrests in the homicide investigation surrounding the disappearances and presumed deaths of Hannah Neville, Roberto Tanner and their unborn child.

47-year-old Ammie Mitchell, 57-year-old Kendall Hawthorne, 28-year-old Matthew Lickliter and 40-year-old Sheena Miller are all being held in the Lancaster County Jail for Accessory to Murder and Tampering with Evidence for assisting Sterling James and Sayde Titus, who also remain in jail. All four arrested live on the property at 7600 NW 27th Street in Lancaster County. 

While LPD is still awaiting pathology results from the human remains located by investigators in Saunders County last week, at this time we believe they are those of Hannah and Roberto. 

As the investigation continued with review of additional evidence and witness interviews, LPD investigators developed probable cause to make further arrests. The SWAT Team served a search warrant at the NW 27th Street address on Tuesday, February 10. 

After Mitchell, Hawthorne, Lickliter and Miller were arrested and interviewed, this is what we believe unfolded:  

• On Thursday, January 15, Sheena Miller was at the NW 27th Street property when James arrived. James and Miller got into James’ vehicle and drove about two miles north on NW 27th with Tanner and Neville following them.  
• Once at the location, James shot and killed Tanner and Neville. Miller assisted James in moving their bodies and then drove Neville’s vehicle back to the house. 
• Ammie Mitchell saw both James and Neville’s vehicles parked in the driveway and saw Neville deceased. She removed several personal items from Neville’s vehicle, many of which have not been recovered.  
• Matthew Lickliter returned home where he observed Tanner and Neville deceased. Lickliter and James retrieved a torch before they drove separately to the area of 40th and Cornhusker in Lincoln where Neville’s vehicle was later found burned.  
• Lickliter and James then drove separately to an area near 40th and Branched Oak outside Davey, Nebraska, where we believe the bodies were initially disposed of, before being moved to Saunders County. 
• Kendall Hawthorne gave baby items from inside Neville’s vehicle to a friend. Those items are believed to contain physical evidence, and some have not been recovered. Hawthorne also gave James permission to burn items on the property.  
• On January 16, we believe all four individuals watched James and Titus clean their vehicle in the garage at NW 27th. 

Autopsies are scheduled for Tanner and Neville on Wednesday, February 11. We hope those will provide additional answers. While LPD has taken lead on this investigation, these homicides are believed to have occurred in Lancaster County.

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UPDATE (February 5) | The Lincoln Police Department has recovered human remains while searching an area of interest in Saunders County. At this time, LPD cannot confirm the number of individuals or their identities. Investigators are awaiting DNA or dental records to make a positive identification. CSI technicians and investigators remain on scene collecting and processing evidence. 

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UPDATE (February 4) | LPD continues to search various locations of interest in Saunders and Lancaster counties as investigators work to locate Hannah Neville and Roberto Tanner. LPD would like to thank Saunders, Polk, York and Lancaster counties, the Nebraska State Patrol plus LPD officers, investigators, CSI technicians and employees who are working tirelessly on this case. We are still working to find their bodies, determine the location of the initial shooting and a motive.

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ORIGINAL RELEASE (February 2) | The Lincoln Police Department is now investigating the disappearances of 26-year-old Hannah Neville and 27-year-old Roberto Tanner as homicides.

Both are believed to be deceased and LPD is working to locate their bodies. We are heartbroken for their families, and our deepest condolences go out to their loved ones who are processing the tragic loss of this married couple and the child they were expecting. 
 
We have made two arrests in their deaths – 24-year-old Sterling James and 22-year-old Sayde Titus, a husband and wife from Lincoln. James is in the Lancaster County Jail on two counts of murder in the first degree. Titus is being held on two counts of aiding and abetting first degree murder. 
 
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office alerted LPD on Wednesday evening, January 28, about the missing person’s report filed regarding Hannah, who is from Stromsburg, Nebraska. A missing person’s report regarding Roberto was filed on Thursday, January 29, in Lincoln.  
 
Investigators worked tirelessly throughout the weekend in cooperation with Polk County to piece together what we believe happened: 

• Hannah’s roommate reported her missing in Polk County after not seeing her since January 15 when Hannah left Stromsburg to pick up her husband in Lincoln.  
• Location data and witness statements place Hannah and Roberto at James and Titus’s apartment at 1215 Arapahoe Street in Lincoln just before 7 p.m. on January 15.  
• Cell phone data shows Hannah’s device leaving at 8 p.m., arriving at 7600 NW 27th Street in Lancaster County and remaining there until 1:30 a.m. It traveled to multiple other locations before going offline on the afternoon of January 16.  
• Earlier that morning, just after 12:30 a.m., LPD also responded to a vehicle fire near 39th and Cornhusker. It was determined to be Hannah’s SUV. The cause of the fire was left under investigation by the Fire Inspector. 
• Officers called Hannah that morning to advise her of the fire, but her number was no longer in service. We now believe that was because she was likely already deceased at the time. LPD was not aware of her disappearance at the time of this discovery.  

On Sunday, February 1, LPD served a search warrant at 7600 NW 27th Street in Lancaster County where several people were detained and interviewed. Investigators learned James admitted to shooting Hannah and Roberto and it occurred sometime in the late hours of January 15 or early hours of January 16.

LPD believes James then buried their bodies and set fire to Hannah’s vehicle. Titus is believed to have helped James after they were killed. James and Titus were both taken into custody at their residence.

The investigation is active and ongoing, including determining a motive. Anyone with information is asked to call our non-emergency number at 402-441-6000. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600, report online at lincolncrimestoppers.com or download the free P3 app.

View images of Neville, Tanner, James and Titus.

Learn more about LPD missing persons investigations here.