MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. -- The parents of the baby murdered by a relative in 2021 are facing new drug and neglect charges.

Marshall County officials charged Kenneth Lain and Tiffany Milton-Coburn, the parents of Mercedes Lain, with Possession of Methamphetamine (Lain faces two felony charges of this crime), Neglect of a Dependent, and Possession of Marijuana.

Officers were dispatched to the Economy Inn in Plymouth. According to court documents, the caller identified themselves as Lain's child and said that she believed he was using drugs around a one-year-old. Records also show a warrant was out for Lain's arrest for a parole violation.

When officers arrived at the room the couple was staying in, they were greeted at the door by a homeless man who told them Lain and Milton-Coburn were letting him shower there; he was eventually released from the scene. The couple and the one-year-old were also in the room.

After searching the room, officers found multiple apparent pieces of drugs and paraphernalia. This included a small red straw with residue inside of it that was found near the baby's crib. They also found a metal pipe, a broken glass pipe, and marijuana. A field test of white powder found on the scene came back positive for methamphetamine. 

The one-year-old has since been placed with her grandmother.

In 2021, Lain and Milton-Coburn pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent connected to Mercedes Lain's death. Both spent two-and-a-half years in prison.

Both had allowed Justin Miller, a relative, take 11-month-old Mercedes to his home on a Friday. At his apartment, Miller got into a fight with his girlfriend while high on synthetic marijuana. He "backhanded" Mercedes in the head after she started crying, and she hit a wall. Miller told the judge he hit her "a couple of times." He woke up the following morning and saw Mercedes was dead. He then drove to Starke County and buried her body in the woods. Miller was sentenced to 65 years for her death.