Father charged in death of Emma Sweet, who was found in Bartholomew County river
The father of a 2-year-old girl whose body was found in a river in Bartholomew County has been charged with neglect resulting in death as well as a drug-related offense.
Prosecutors have formally charged Jeremy Sweet in the death of his daughter, Emma, after police placed him on a 72-hour hold pending further investigation into her death. Both father and daughter were reported missing the day before duck hunters found Sweet in a truck submerged in the White River, with no sign of Emma.
Search crews later found her body downstream.
First responders took Sweet to Columbus Regional Hospital for hypothermia treatment.
Related: What we know about 2-year-old Emma Sweet's death
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said Sweet later gave “conflicting stories” about what happened to investigators. At one point, he told police Emma was in the car when he drove off an embankment and into the river. Sweet originally told investigators he possibly dropped off his daughter prior to the incident, Myers said, but later said his daughter “was with him at the time he went into the water.”
“Our detectives have talked to Jeremy on several different occasions, and he had given conflicting stories," Myers said in a news conference. "But it made us believe that, probably, she was in the water with him..."
Police found a needle and drug paraphernalia on him after rescuing him from the truck. Sweet was out on bond for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and possession of methamphetamine, court records show.
He’s been charged in Bartholomew Superior Court with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and unlawful possession of a syringe.
Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Emma Sweet's father charged in her death after body found in river
