Jenna Gerwatowski, a 23-year-old florist in Newberry, Michigan, grew up hearing about the unsolved “Baby Garnet” mystery, a chilling tale of an infant found dead in a campground toilet in 1997.
However, little did she know that her own DNA would provide the key to solving the decades-old case.
According to a CNN report, the mystery unravelled in May 2022 when Jenna received an unexpected call from a Michigan State Police detective.
A DNA match had linked her to the deceased infant, setting off a cascade of revelations. “I was in shock,” Jenna said, recalling the moment she was told of the connection.
Six months earlier, Jenna had submitted a DNA test through FamilyTreeDNA, unaware it would entangle her in a cold case investigation.
Investigators used genetic genealogy to trace the infant’s lineage, ultimately identifying Jenna’s grandmother, Nancy Gerwatowski, now 62, as the alleged perpetrator.
Nancy, who had not been in contact with Jenna’s family for over two decades, is accused of delivering the baby alone and abandoning the body at the Garnet Lake Campground.
The charges against Nancy, which include open murder and involuntary manslaughter, rest on whether the baby was born alive.
While prosecutors allege the death was preventable, Nancy’s defence claims she was in medical shock during a traumatic delivery and lacked access to emergency services in rural Michigan.
For Jenna, the revelations were deeply personal. “I grew up hearing about this case, and then to find out it was my grandmother, it’s surreal,” she said.
The discovery has reopened old wounds within her family, particularly for her mother, Kara, who severed ties with Nancy years ago.
Judge Brian D. Rahilly is expected to rule soon on whether the charges against Nancy will proceed, marking a pivotal moment in a case that has haunted the Newberry community for over two decades.
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