Mom arrested more than decade after dead infant named ‘baby angel’ was found floating in Mississippi River

A Minnesota woman has been charged in a more than decade-old cold case of a baby girl whose body was found floating down the Mississippi River.

DNA evidence now shows that Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 43, is the mother of the dead newborn, who was dubbed “Baby Angel”, according to investigators.

Boaters found the baby girl in the Mississippi River in Minnesota, seven miles south of Winona, 13 years ago.

The child’s body was located in a bag with incense, a pendant and multiple angel figures in September 2011 over that Labor Day weekend.

One of the boaters tried to perform CPR on the child, according to News 8 Now, but it was clear the infant had died.

The angel figurines led authorities to give the child the “Baby Angel” nickname. She was likely only a couple of days old.

A medical examiner found the infant had a four-inch section of her umbilical cord attached and “several fractures on the front and side” of her skull, a criminal complaint stated. The child had sustained the injuries while she was alive, an autopsy conducted in 2024 found.

For years, officials didn’t know what happened to the child or how she came to be in the river.

That was until DNA technology led investigators to Baechle in May 2023. Authorities had used DNA samples from the baby to help find possible relatives.

Officials later approached Baechle for a DNA sample and she retained an attorney. To confirm a DNA match, officers went through the woman’s trash and sent samples to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

There, investigators determined the infant was the woman’s biological child.

Relatives told police they immediately recognized the blue pendant found with the child and were certain it belonged to Baechle. The mother, they said, collected angels and bought an angel ornament each year for Christmas.

The relatives said they had not been in touch with the woman and stated she was living in a van in 2011.

After the DNA test results came back, authorities with the Winona County Sheriff’s Office charged Baechle with two counts of manslaughter.

During a news conference Thursday, Sheriff Ron Ganrude said: “For more than 13 years, Baby Angel's tragic death has weighed heavily on the Winona community.

“She deserved better than a watery grave. She deserved more than a life cut short. And while her birth mother remained hidden, this community wrapped its arms around this little girl."

Baechle appeared in court Thursday for her arraignment. She's given a $200,000 unconditional bond and a $20,000 conditional bond.

She had recently been hired to teach one class at Winona State University for the spring semester.

In a statement to the outlet, the university said another professor would be taking over.