WINONA, Minn. — The biological mother of a dead newborn found floating on the Mississippi River in 2011 is facing criminal charges.
Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 43, is facing two counts of second-degree manslaughter for allegedly placing her newborn in a white tote bag and sending it down the Mississippi River in 2011.
The charges, which were filed in Winona County District Court on Thursday, revealed that law enforcement connected her DNA to the DNA samples collected from the objects found inside the bag.
The newborn 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 four small porcelain angels, a seeing eye bracelet and incense.
The infant became known as “Baby Angel” in the Winona community.
Jennifer Nichole Baechle. (Courtesy of Winona County Sheriff’s Office via Forum News Service)
Six months after the discovery of the infant, more than 150 residents honored the newborn 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 often replace the flowers near her grave.
Nearly a decade after the infant’s death, Winona County deputies 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 well known. 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 Post Bulletin previously reported. Deputies searched the woman’s trash. According to the Minnesota BCA test, a DNA sample from the trash shows the woman is a possible biological match with a blood sample taken from the infant.
In a search warrant filed in March 2024 , investigators narrowed their search for the identity of the baby’s mother. The sheriff’s office was using the warrant to ask for permission to obtain a DNA sample directly from Baby Angel’s suspected mother.
Deputies submitted Baechle’s DNA for testing around March 19, 2024. 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. 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 Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) concluded on March 17, 2025, that the DNA on the incense stick matches in the bag matched the DNA of Baechle.
Her first appearance is scheduled for later Thursday, April 24.
A press conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Winona, where authorities are expected to release more information about the case.
More background on the case
An autopsy was conducted on Sept. 6, 2011, the day after the infant 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.
In 2023, after the forensics genealogy company provided law enforcement with a possible lead to Baechle, deputies asked Baechle to provide a DNA sample. Baechle asked for more time to consider giving them a sample and to research Firebird Forensics Group.
Soon after her second request for additional time, a criminal defense lawyer sent a letter to the sheriff’s office requesting that any future contact with Baechle be made through the attorney.
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