Taylin Hill was a cousin of Erika's biological mother, Theresa Spiva, who had a history of substance abuse and relinquished custody of her daughter.

Taylin reportedly called her sister and daughter at their jobs and asked them to come to the home, where she showed them Erika's body in the bathroom.

[3] Many of the children in her care feared speaking out due to threatened retaliation and one denied Taylin's alleged abuse.

[7] When others would inquire the whereabouts of Erika after she disappeared, Taylin reportedly claimed she had returned to her hometown of Joliet, Illinois, where she had previously been cared for by her great aunt, who died in 2001.

[4][10] On February 26, 2007, two brothers reported to police that they saw what appeared to be charred legs in the entrance of a vacant building in Gary.

[13] The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children created three renderings of the victim depicted in life, one around the time she was discovered and the next two, a frontal and profile image in 2014.

[3] She returned as a substitute aide in 2013 and remained employed until she was charged with Erika's death, when the school district placed her on leave.

[5] In July 2016, Taylin Hill pleaded guilty to three reduced charges, including child neglect and abuse.