Winona Baby Angel: Woman pleads guilty to interference with a dead body

Winona Baby Angel: Authorities announce arrest [RAW]

Winona County authorities held a news conference announcing the arrest of a woman believed to be the mother of a baby found dead in the Mississippi River in 2011.

WINONA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 15-year investigation into the Winona "Baby Angel" case has resulted in a conviction after a woman admitted to interference with a dead body, a gross misdemeanor. 

Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 44, of Winona, pleaded guilty to interference with a dead body-concealing evidence, and had two charges of manslaughter dismissed.  

Investigators and locals dubbed the infant "Baby Angel" after the baby's body was found in a bag with a pendant, incense and several angel figures.

READ MORE: Winona's Baby Angel: Woman charged with manslaughter infant's 2011 death

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A baby's body who was found in the Mississippi River in 2011 may be closer to being identified. FOX 9's Maury Glover has the story.

Local perspective:

Court documents filed in Winona County show Baechle pleaded guilty to interference with a dead body and had two charges of manslaughter dismissed on May 6.

She was then sentenced to two years of supervised probation and 40 hours of community service.

The backstory:

The baby's body was found by boaters around 2:20 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2011, on the Mississippi River about seven miles south of the City of Winona. 

Boaters found the baby's body in a bag with a pendant, incense and several angel figures, charging documents say.

The angel figurines led to the child being called "Baby Angel" by law enforcement.

During an autopsy, the medical examiner found there were "several fractures on the front and side of the infant's skull," according to the complaint. A 2024 updated autopsy found the "Normally developed term female infant sustained injuries of the head while alive."

There was also no evidence of medical intervention, as the baby had a four-inch section of the umbilical cord attached.

Family interviewed by law enforcement say they did not have personal contact with Baechle in 2011 and that she was living in a van at the time in Winona.

The criminal complaint states they "immediately recognized the blue pendant" as belonging to Baechle. They also said that she collected angels and that she got an angel ornament every Christmas.