Story highlights
Prosecutors formally charged Michael Plumadore with murder
Authorities say he admitted to killing a 9-year-old girl
If convicted, he faces a lengthy sentence
A man accused of killing a 9-year-old Indiana girl with a brick and dismembering her body with a hacksaw made an initial appearance in a Fort Wayne court Wednesday.
Michael Plumadore faces one count each of murder, abuse of a corpse and moving a body from the scene of crime in the killing of Aliahna Lemmon, the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney’s office said.
He was arrested Monday night after the girl’s body was found and is being held without bond.
Plumadore’s initial hearing will be on January 4.
If convicted, he faces 45 to 65 years on the murder charge alone.
In a probable cause affidavit released this week, sheriff’s investigators said Plumadore admitted striking the girl repeatedly in the head with a brick as she stood on the front steps of his mobile home in the early hours of December 22.
He told authorities he stored Aliahna’s body in garbage bags in a freezer at his home until that night, when he allegedly dismembered it with a hacksaw, according to the affidavit.
Plumadore allegedly told investigators he threw parts of the body in a nearby commercial trash bin but kept the head, hands and feet in his freezer, according to the document.
The document does not disclose a motive for the girl’s death.
Amber Story, the girl’s grandmother, had described Plumadore as a neighbor and close family friend.
She said Aliahna and her two sisters were staying with Plumadore for about a week while Aliahna’s mother recovered from the flu.