By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-22 15:23:52 | Updated at 2024-11-24 04:10:43
1 day ago
A woman who took an at-home DNA test never thought it would be the missing puzzle piece in a decades-long cold case murder.
Jenna Rose Gerwatowski, 23, took to TikTok to share how she unwittingly cracked the infamous Baby Garnet case.
In June 1997, a deceased infant was found in an outhouse at the Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan.
An autopsy revealed that the baby girl - who was determined to be anywhere from the gestational age of 36 to 42 weeks old - died from asphyxiation, which, according to officials, was preventable.
For 27 years, the investigation into who dumped the child's remains was at a stand still - until Jenna, who posted a TikTok video explaining the case, got a call from the Michigan State Police a year after submitting her DNA.
Authorities informed her they were re-opening the case because she 'was a direct match' to the infant, who was her aunt.
After investigators conducted more research and tested her mother's DNA, Jenna's maternal grandmother Nancy Gerwatowski - who she'd never met - was identified as the woman that abandoned the baby.
'I've never made a video like this before. I keep stumbling over my words... this might take a few minutes to get through. It's a long story...' she explained in the now viral video.
'I've never met my grandmother, I didn't even know her name until I was 14 or 15 years old. This case was very popular in the town that I grew up in because it was so f***ed up.
'It was the Baby Garnet case... a lot of people have questions. I'm here to start talking about it.'
Jenna Rose Gerwatowski, 23, took to TikTok to share how she unwittingly cracked the infamous Baby Garnet case
About two years ago, I watched my best friend get an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas. I thought it was dope. I was like "I need one of those". I bought one.
'You spit in a tube, you sent it in, and they give you your ancestry results. Little did I know... so I sent it in, got my results back.
'About a year later, I'm at work, and I get a phone call. It's a detective from the Michigan State Police.
'I start freaking out. He said he'd reopened the cold case from 25 years ago and your DNA is a direct match to the victim of this case,' she went on.
'As the investigation proceeded, detectives took Jenna's mother's DNA. They discovered she was a direct relative to the baby.
'The only other person that it could have been was my mom's mother. We were mind blown. She is literally the person they have been looking for for 25 years. It's all because of an Ancestry DNA kit.'
Gerwatowski, 61, was arrested in July 2022 and charged with one count each of open murder, involuntary manslaughter and concealing the death of an individual after she confirmed she was the mother of the lifeless child.
At the time, Nancy delivered the newborn by herself at her home in Newberry, and did not seek medical intervention to save her, the state alleges.
The death of Baby Garnet shocked America in 1997. The deceased baby girl was found in an outhouse at the Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan
After investigators conducted more research and tested her mother's DNA, Jenna's maternal grandmother Nancy Gerwatowski - who she'd never met - was identified as the woman that abandoned the baby
Instead, she chose to hide the dead infant in an outhouse at the campground, 'more than 20 miles out of town,' before a worker found the child, the state added.
In October 2023 Nancy, who now resides in Wyoming, was released on a personal recognizance bond, meaning a judge set her free after her case and criminal history was reviewed and completed during a pretrial hearing.
She was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device and to remain under home confinement.
In May 2024, the Michigan Department of Attorney General announced she will stand trial for the crime after Honorable Beth Ann Gibson of the 92nd District Court in St. Ignace issued an Opinion and Order over Nancy.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel credited advancements in genetics testing for solving the case.
'Thanks to the incredible efforts of investigators across three decades, we are finally able to pursue justice for Baby Garnet more than 25 years after her tragic death,' Nessel said.
'In 1997, genetics testing was nowhere near as sophisticated as it is today, and I am grateful for the work of detectives and responders on-scene to preserve vital evidence in this matter.
'Prosecutors in my office are able to bring about this long-delayed criminal trial because of twenty-seven years of sound police work, scientific advancement, evidence preservation, and diligent state and local detectives who never gave up on justice for this infant victim,' she added
She is expected to to appear before the 11th Circuit Court in Mackinac County on December 12, 2024 for a motion hearing, according to court records reviewed by DailyMail.com.
DailyMail.com contacted the Michigan Department of Attorney General and Nancy's lawyer for comment.
