Man charged with murder in connection to 2-year-old found dead in Steele County

A Milwaukee man has been charged in connection to the death of 2-year-old Noelani Robinson, who was abducted and found dead in Minnesota in March 2019, according to court records.

According to a criminal complaint, Dariaz Higgins was charged with second-degree murder.

Higgins was also charged in connection to the death of the 2-year-old's mother, 24-year-old Sierra Robinson. He is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail.

According to the criminal complaint, a driver discovered the body of a child wrapped in a blanket at the intersection of Highway 218 and Highway 30 in Steele County.

$1M bail set for man charged with killing missing girl's mom

Investigators learned the victim had been at the Rodeway Inn Motel in Austin with Higgins, who the complaint identified as her father. In an interview with police, Higgins, who was arrested in Milwaukee in connection to the shooting of Sierra Robinson, identified the child as Noelani from a photograph.

Higgins told authorities he was at the Rodeway Inn Motel when the child fell off the toilet and died.

He went on to tell investigators that after leaving the hotel, traveling back to Milwaukee and then returning to Austin, he loaded the body in his vehicle.

The complaint says while driving into blizzard conditions, he stopped and left the body on the side of the road.

An autopsy determined the child died from "non-accidental blunt force trauma," according to the complaint.

Deloise R. Lipsey has also been charged with harboring and aiding a felon in connection to the deaths, according to court records.