A woman who took an at-home DNA test never imagined it would be the missing piece of the puzzle in a decades-long cold case murder.
Jenna Rose Gerwatowski, 23, took to TikTok to share how she unknowingly solved the infamous Baby Garnet case.
In June 1997, a deceased baby was found in an outbuilding at the Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan.
An autopsy revealed that the baby girl — determined to be sometime between 36 and 42 weeks’ gestational age — died of asphyxiation, which officials said was preventable.
For 27 years, the investigation into who dumped the child’s remains lay dormant — until Jenna, who posted a TikTok video explaining the case a year after submitting her DNA, got a call from Michigan State Police .
Authorities informed her that they were reopening the case because she was “a direct match” to the child, who was her aunt.
After investigators did more research and tested her mother’s DNA, Jenna’s maternal grandmother, Nancy Gerwatowski — whom she never met — was identified as the woman who abandoned the baby.
‘I’ve never made a video like this before. I keep stumbling over my words. It might take me a few minutes to get through. It’s a long story…” she explained in the now-viral video.
‘I never met my grandmother, I didn’t know her name until I was 14 or 15 years old. This place was really popular in the town I grew up in because it sucked so much.
“It was the Baby Garnet case… a lot of people have questions. I’m here to talk about it.’
Jenna Rose Gerwatowski, 23, took to TikTok to share how she unknowingly solved 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.” I bought one.
“You spit into a tube, you sent it in, and they give you the results of your ancestors. I didn’t know… so I sent it in and got my results back.
‘About a year later I’m at work and I get a phone call. It’s a Michigan State Police detective.
‘I’m starting to freak out. He said he reopened the cold case from 25 years ago and your DNA is a direct match to the victim in this case,” she continued.
“As the investigation continued, detectives collected DNA from Jenna’s mother. They discovered she was a direct relative of the baby.
“The only other person it could have been was my mother’s mother. We were stunned. She is literally the person they have been looking for for 25 years. It’s all because of a DNA kit from Ancestry.”
Gerwatowski, 61, was arrested in July 2022 and charged with open murder, involuntary manslaughter and concealing the death of a person after confirming she was the mother of the lifeless child.
At the time, Nancy delivered the newborn herself at her Newberry home and did not seek medical intervention to save her, the state alleges.
Baby Garnet’s death shocked America in 1997. The deceased baby girl was found in an outbuilding at the Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan.
After investigators did more research and tested her mother’s DNA, Jenna’s maternal grandmother, Nancy Gerwatowski, whom she had never met, was identified as the woman who abandoned the baby.
Instead, she chose to hide the dead child in an outbuilding at the campground, “more than 20 miles outside of town,” before a worker found the child, the state added.
In October 2023, Nancy, who now lives in Wyoming, was released on a personal recognizance bond, meaning a judge released her after her case and criminal history were reviewed and finalized at a hearing.
She was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device and remain under house arrest.
In May 2024, the Michigan Department of Attorney General announced that she will stand trial for the crime after the Honorable Beth Ann Gibson of the 92nd District Court in St. Ignace issued an opinion and order on Nancy.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has credited advances in genetics testing with solving the case.
“Thanks to the incredible efforts of investigators over three decades, we are finally able to pursue justice for Baby Garnet, more than 25 years after her tragic death,” Nessel said.
“In 1997, genetic testing was nowhere near as advanced as it is today, and I am grateful for the work of investigators and first responders on the ground to secure vital evidence in this matter.
“Prosecutors in my office were able to bring this long-delayed criminal trial to fruition thanks to twenty-seven years of solid police work, scientific advances, evidence preservation, and diligent state and local investigators who never gave up on justice for this young victim. she added
She is expected to appear in the 11th Circuit Court in Mackinac County for a motion hearing on December 12, 2024, according to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Michigan Department of Attorney General and Nancy’s attorney for comment.