The biological mother of a dead newborn girl found floating on the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota 14 years ago is facing criminal charges.

Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 43, of Winona, is facing two counts of second-degree manslaughter for allegedly placing her newborn in a white tote bag and sending the baby down the Mississippi in 2011.

“While today’s arrest and charges cannot bring her back, we hope these charges can help the community heal,” said Catherine Knutson, deputy superintendent of forensic science services at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.The charges, which were filed in Winona County District Court on Thursday, revealed that law enforcement connected Baechle’s DNA to the DNA samples collected from the objects found inside the bag.

‘Baby Angel’

The newborn girl was found concealed in a white tote bag on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi River on Sept. 5, 2011, by boaters. The 7-pound baby was found swaddled under a green T-shirt inside two plastic bags that also contained a bracelet, incense and four small porcelain angels.

Six months after the discovery of the infant, more than 150 residents honored the unidentified girl in Winona’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. “Baby Angel” was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery, where her gravestone stands today. A community-wide effort in Winona funded the grave marker, and members of the sheriff’s office replace the flowers near her grave every year.

“The community wrapped its arms around the little girl,” Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude said during Thursday’s news conference.

Dave Brand, the former Winona County sheriff who retired in 2014, said he feels a “sense of closure” now that charges have been filed. Brand said in all his years as an investigator, he cannot understand what brings a person to do that to a child.

“I feel kind of sad,” he said. “Thinking back at the funeral, the little baby didn’t even know what was going on in the world. I’m upset with the person that was involved.”

Brand said they are considering changing Baby Angel’s gravestone to no longer say the investigation is ongoing. The sheriff’s office will continue changing the flowers at the gravesite each year.

DNA evidence

Nearly a decade after the infant’s death, Winona County investigators sought the assistance of a forensics genealogy company that has a history of helping law enforcement identify unidentified human remains. When Baby Angel was initially discovered, forensic genealogy was not as well developed. Law enforcement attempted to follow leads connected to the figurines found in the bag with the newborn, but none led to finding Baby Angel’s parents.

Firebird Forensics Group provided the Winona County Sheriff’s Office with a possible lead to a 41-year-old woman living in Winona in March 2023, the Rochester Post Bulletin previously reported. Deputies searched the woman’s trash. According to the Minnesota BCA test, a DNA sample from the trash showed the woman was a possible biological match with a blood sample taken from the infant.

In a search warrant filed in March 2024, investigators narrowed their search. The sheriff’s office used the warrant to obtain a DNA sample directly from Baby Angel’s suspected mother.

Investigators then submitted Baechle’s DNA for testing. The results indicated there was strong evidence to support the biological relationship between Baechle and the newborn, the criminal complaint said.

After receiving the DNA test results, the sheriff’s office spoke with members of Baechle’s family, who told law enforcement they did not have personal contact with Baechle in 2011. They said she was living in her van in the Winona area in 2011. When deputies showed photos of the items found with the newborn in the white tote bag, Baechle’s family members “immediately recognized” the blue pendant. According to the complaint, her family members also said Baechle was gifted an angel ornament every Christmas. Baechle collected the angel ornaments.

The BCA concluded last month that DNA on the incense stick matches in the bag matched the DNA of Baechle.

“We don’t have all the answers, but we know who is responsible,” Ganrude said at the news conference.

Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman confirmed that Baechle is a mother of two children and currently lives in Winona.

She appeared in court Thursday and was placed on $200,000 unconditional bail or $20,000 conditional bail. As part of Baechle’s conditions, she will be on a GPS monitor and will not be permitted to leave the state.

Baechle is scheduled to appear in court for an omnibus hearing on July 7.

Background

An autopsy was conducted on Sept. 6, 2011, the day after Baby Angel was found. The medical examiner determined the infant was likely born within a day or two of her discovery. Part of the umbilical cord attached to the infant appeared to be cut by someone with a sharp-edged instrument. The complaint said it was not cut by a medical provider. The medical examiner also found bleeding on the infant’s brain and fractures on the front and side of her skull, the complaint said.

In 2024, an updated autopsy review revealed that the infant “sustained injuries of the head while alive.” The injuries would not have occurred if a medical professional had assisted with the birth. The medical examiner concluded it did not appear that the infant received medical treatment during or after birth.

“As the biological mother of the infant, Defendant had a duty to seek medical care on behalf of the infant during pregnancy, birth, and immediately after birth,” the complaint said.

Red Wing baby deaths

In a similar southeastern Minnesota case, a 51-year-old Red Wing woman, the mother of two newborns found dead in the Mississippi River two decades earlier, was sentenced in April 2023 to more than 27 years in prison for the murder of one of the infants.

Jennifer Lynn Matter had previously pleaded guilty to murder in Goodhue County District Court.

She was identified as the mother of a newborn boy found dead in Lake Pepin in Frontenac in 2003 and a newborn girl found dead in the Mississippi near Red Wing in 1999.

She was charged with murder in May 2022 after investigators used DNA to link her to the children.

At the time the babies were found, investigators named the 1999 girl “Jamie” and the 2003 boy “Cory.” A third infant, a newborn girl, was found in 2007 in a marina slip by two workers from Treasure Island Resort and Casino near Red Wing and was named “Abby.” That case remains under investigation.