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Ogden • An attorney for Dea Millerberg said Wednesday he expects a homicide charge to be filed in about a month against Millerberg and her husband, Eric, in connection with the death of 16-year-old Alexis Rasmussen.

Those charges could be anything from manslaughter to capital murder, Michael Bouwhuis said shortly after being assigned to represent Dea Millerberg on prescription fraud charges unrelated to the teen's September death.

"I've been told by the county attorney that charges will be coming against both of them," Bouwhuis told reporters outside a courtroom.

Bouwhuis said the exact charge was unclear since an autopsy report is pending. Weber County Attorney Dee Smith has said the medical examiner's report may not be finished for a month or more.

Smith has called the Millerbergs persons on interest in the Rasmussen case, but attempts to reach Smith to confirm what Bouwhuis said about a homicide charge were not immediately successful.

Dea Millerberg, 38, of North Ogden, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in 2nd District Court on Wednesday. The hearing was continued until Nov. 16 since Bouwhuis is newly appointed. Dea Millerberg's prescription fraud charges were filed after Rasmussen went missing. Dea Millerberg remains in the Weber County jail.

On Tuesday, a 2nd District Court judge sent Millerberg's husband, Eric Millerberg, 36, of North Ogden, to prison for violating his probation in a 2010 credit card fraud case.

Rasmussen was baby-sitting for the Millerbergs the night of Sept. 10, when she disappeared, North Ogden police have said.

On Oct. 18, Alexis' body was found within two miles of I-84 and about 35 to 50 yards from a road along the Weber River, according to Smith. Police have said they were directed to the location by a confidential source.

Smith has said that the girl died in a house on Sept. 11 or shortly thereafter— not from natural causes — and that her body was then transported to where it was buried near Interstate 84 in Morgan County.

Because the body was moved, desecration of a corpse is one of the charges prosecutors are considering, Smith has said.

At some point on Sept. 10, Rasmussen's mother had given her permission to stay over at the Millerbergs' because it was late and the couple had not returned home, police have said. The Millerbergs have told police that between 11 p.m. and midnight, Alexis told them she was leaving to meet a friend at a nearby school.

After the girl's disappearance, the Millerbergs were each arrested on unrelated charges. Eric Millerberg was arrested Oct. 3 for violating his probation, and Dea Millerberg was charged Oct. 7 with prescription fraud.

Dea Millerberg remains at the Weber County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Judge W. Brent West appointed her a new attorney because her current lawyer was also representing her husband.

According to a probable-cause statement filed with the court, Dea Millerberg was receiving controlled substances from one doctor, when she visited another doctor and failed to disclose the other doctor-patient relationship.

Eric Millerberg was in and out of prison between 1997 and 2006 for convictions that include burglary, discharge of a firearm and failure to stop at the command of police, according to Department of Corrections records.

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