Sgt. Ronald Earl Creech II said in a statement that Johni Michelle Heuser had made up stories about the location of their baby, Harmony Jade Creech. Authorities say Harmony died three to five weeks before her skeletal remains were found inside a diaper box in the attic of the couple's home.
"Harmony's mother was good at deceiving everyone who would ask about Harmony and where she was," Creech said in a statement released through the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. "The stories were credible and everyone believed her. My goal for the last year was to complete my mission and return home to my children. I have returned home to a tragedy I would not wish upon any parent of any child."
Creech, who returned from duty Friday, had only met his baby once, during a brief, midtour leave from his 15-month deployment in Iraq.
Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins described Heuser as a woman who showed little remorse throughout the interview process.
A polygraph test "confirmed that she was a habitual liar," he said.
Another relative met Creech when he arrived Friday and drove him home, where they awoke Heuser and found the baby apparently missing.
Police issued a statewide Amber Alert when family members reported that the baby was gone and a screen was missing from her opened bedroom window. Her body was found in the attic the following afternoon.
The NC Medical Examiner's Office is examining the cause of Harmony's death. Investigators said Heuser told them she found the baby dead in her crib and put the body in the attic.
Creech, who is now staying with his mother and father, said he has drawn strength from 82nd Airborne paratroopers and his family.
"Nothing can prepare anyone for something like this, but I have more strength and confidence in myself because of my training and my unit and my experience in the Army and the 82nd Airborne Division," Creech said.
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