A woman was charged in a nearly 14-year-old cold case of a baby found dead in Minnesota floating down the Mississippi River as investigators say DNA evidence shows she was the infant’s mother.
Jennifer Nichole Baechle was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in the death of a newborn girl investigators have dubbed “Baby Angel,” Winona County officials announced Thursday. Baby Angel was found floating inside a bag on the Mississippi River on Sept. 5, 2011, 7 miles south of Winona.
The bag also contained a pendant, incense and several angel figurines.
Winona County Sheriff Ron Gandrude told reporters that the baby’s death “has weighed heavily on the hearts of the Winona community.”
“She deserved better than a watery grave,” Gandrude said. “She deserved more than a life cut short.”
According to a criminal complaint, an autopsy determined she was born just a day or two before she died. A 4-inch section of the umbilical cord was attached to the baby, and it did not appear that the cord was cut by a medical provider.
“The medical examiner noted several fractures on the front and side of the infant’s skull,” the complaint said. “There was bleeding on the brain. There was no evidence of medical intervention on the infant.”
Evidence showed that the baby sustained the skull fractures while she was still alive and that they did not appear to have occurred during birth, according to the complaint.
The sheriff’s office worked with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to look into every lead at the time, but authorities were unable to obtain answers about the newborn’s identity or what happened to her.
The sheriff’s office held a burial for the baby in 2016, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported at the time.
More than a decade after Baby Angel was found, investigators reached out to Firebird Forensics Group to see whether genetic genealogy might uncover a relative.
Firebird identified Baechle as a possible lead in March 2023, the complaint said. Gandrude told reporters that authorities asked Baechle whether she would offer a DNA sample voluntarily but that she refused.
According to the complaint, investigators searched her trash and found “discarded female hygiene product” that was sent for DNA testing to compare with Baby Angel.
Officials said that testing, conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, confirmed Baechle could be the baby’s mother.
Deputies obtained a warrant last year to collect Baechle’s DNA to be officially tested by the bureau. The report found “very strong evidence” that Baby Angel was Baechle’s daughter, the complaint said.
Investigators spoke with members of Baechle’s family, who said they had not maintained contact with her since 2011. The relatives said she was living in her van in Winona at the time, according to the complaint.
Shown pictures of what else was found in the bag with Baby Angel, the family members “immediately recognized the blue pendant” as belonging to Baechle, the complaint said.
They also said she collected angels and described giving her an angel ornament every Christmas.
Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman told reporters that other, less serious charges were considered but that they were outside a statute of limitations. Baechle is the only person charged.
“At this time, she is the only parent that came up,” Sonneman said. “Obviously there’s a father out there somewhere, but at this time the forensics only identified her.”
Sonneman said Baechle had lived in Winona for several years and was married with two children. She is not considered a danger to the public, though Sonneman argued in court that she was a flight risk.
Baechle appeared in court Thursday for a bail hearing, Sonneman told reporters. A judge set unconditional bail at $200,000, and a lower, conditional bail was set at $20,000.
Conditions of the bail were that Baechle wear a GPS monitoring device and that she not leave Minnesota. If she is convicted, Baechle faces a presumptive sentence of 48 months.
Court records for Baechle were not immediately available, and NBC News was unable to identify an attorney in her case. Sonneman was not available Thursday for more information.
The sheriff’s office said Baechle was booked into the Winona County Jail on Thursday, but county inmate records did not list her in custody Thursday afternoon.
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