A woman believed to be the mother of “Baby Angel,” an infant whose body was discovered floating in the Mississippi River in 2011, is now charged in connection with the child’s death.

On Sept. 5, 2011, boaters reported that they had found a child inside a bag about 7 miles south of Winona. Inside the bag was a pendant, incense and several angel figurines that became the namesake for the unidentified newborn.

More than a decade after Baby Angel’s death, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Firebird Forensics Group, a nonprofit specializing in identifying human remains, a criminal complaint states. Firebird has a history of assisting in cold case investigations, most notably aiding the FBI in the “Golden State Killer” case.

Firebird used DNA from the child to locate potential relatives, and deputies followed up to request voluntary DNA samples using that information.

In March 2023, Firebird notified the sheriff’s office that it had found a possible lead in Jennifer Nichole Baechle. Deputies asked Baechle, 43, to provide a DNA sample, but she asked twice for more time to think about it, according to the complaint. A lawyer representing Baechle later said to contact her only through counsel.

Deputies eventually obtained Baechle’s DNA by rummaging through her trash and pulling out a used feminine hygiene product. Investigators say the sample taken from that item showed Baby Angel could be Baechle’s child.

In March 2024, investigators obtained a search warrant to get a DNA sample directly from Baechle, which indicated a strong likelihood that Baechle was Baby Angel’s biological mother. Swabs taken from the incense sticks left with the child’s body came back as a match with Baechle’s DNA, the complaint states.

When interviewed by deputies, Baechle’s relatives said the pendant found with Baby Angel belonged to Baechle. She was also known to collect angel figurines such as the ones found in the bag, and Baechle’s relatives said they gave her an angel ornament every Christmas. And while they did not have contact with Baechle in 2011, they said she was living in a van in the Winona area at the time.

An autopsy of Baby Angel found the child had suffered skull fractures while alive, and these fractures caused brain hemorrhages that resulted in the infant’s death, charging documents state.

“This is not the type of injury that would have occurred with the assistance of a medical professional during delivery,” the complaint notes, adding later that “[Baechle] had a duty to seek medical care on behalf of the infant during pregnancy, birth, and immediately after birth.”

Former Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand says he continued to work the case years after he retired.

“I never forgot it, I prayed a lot,” said Brand. “I see that baby, and I never can get her out of my mind, what she looked like. It looked like she was just sleeping when they brought her off the river.”

Nearly 14 years later, it’s a sense of closure that brings the community back to see “baby angel” at the cemetery in Winona.

“We never gave up working to find those answers,” said Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude.

“Today, this is a special day that I won’t forget that we have closure on this case,” Brand said.

“Every child, such as in this case, deserves to be known and remembered no matter how long it takes,” said Catherine Knutson, deputy superintendent of Forensic Science Services at the Minnesota BCA.

Baechle is charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, whereby she is accused of causing the death of Baby Angel through neglect or endangerment of a child and by knowingly taking “a chance of causing death or great bodily harm.”

“We don’t have all the answers, but we know who was responsible, and today’s charges are the first step in holding her accountable,” Ganrude said.

Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman said if Baechle is found guilty, she faces a presumptive guideline sentence of four years. The maximum sentence for each charge is 10 years.

During an arraignment hearing Thursday morning, Winona County Judge Nancy Buytendorp set Baechle’s bail at $20,000 with conditions or $200,000 without conditions. Sonneman had asked for bail to be set at $50,000 with conditions because she believed Baechle to be a flight risk.

An omnibus hearing is set for July 7.