MURDER
CASE #: 2011-8
Baby Angel
Status:
Solved
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Homer Minnesota
Case Disposition:
Sentence in “baby angel” case The suspected mother of “Baby Angel,” an infant found deceased floating in the Mississippi River in 2011, has pleaded guilty. Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 44, pleaded guilty to interference with a body, a gross misdemeanor, in exchange for two counts of manslaughter being dropped. She was sentenced at the same time as her plea, receiving 40 hours of community service and two years of probation.
Summary:
In September 2011, a newborn baby was found deceased in the river in Homer, just south of Winona. The seven-pound body was wrapped with a green T-shirt, encased in two brown plastic garbage bags and then placed inside a canvas tourist tote. That tote was embroidered with sailboats and the Mexican resort area of Manzanillo. Investigators quickly named the child, "Baby Angel" because several glass angel figurines were found wrapped alongside the body.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
The medical examiner determined the infant had several fractures on its skull and was likely born within two days of being discovered, officials said. The Winona County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the death, but so far the identity of the infant or parent has not been confirmed.
Additional Details:
Potential break in the cold case According to a search warrant filed last week in Winona County, investigators with the sheriff's office later sought help from Firebird Forensics Group, a nonprofit genetic genealogy company. The nonprofit was also involved in assisting the FBI in a high-profile case in California of Joseph DeAngelo, also known as the "Golden State Killer." Last March, Firebird Forensics Group alerted the sheriff's office to a "possible lead" in the case: a 42-year-old woman who lives in Winona. The search warrant states that an investigator contacted the woman and asked for consent for a DNA buccal swap. The woman said that she wanted to research the company before considering it. Later, the sheriff's office received a letter from a law firm representing the woman, requesting any future contact be made through the law firm. An investigator then "conducted a trash pull" of trash that was set out near the woman's residence and collected by the trash collection company. The search warrant document states a discarded female hygiene product was found in the woman's trash and submitted to the BCA laboratory for a forensic comparison to evidence collected in the baby's death investigation. In late June, the BCA lab determined that the baby could be the possible biological child of the Winona woman. However, the report also states that "discarded samples are not considered known samples for direct comparison," so additional testing is needed following a known sample submission from the woman. The search warrant was filed to get a known DNA sample from the woman. That sample was collected on March 19 and investigators expect the results in the coming weeks. "The Winona County Sheriff's Office has followed up on every lead and bit of information we've received over the years. We continue to hope and pray for closure in this case," Sheriff Ron Ganrude said.
Case Last Updated:
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