LANSING, MI- A TikTok user shared a video revealing how an Ancestry DNA test may have solved a notorious 27-year murder mystery better known as the "Baby Garnet" case, landing her grandmother in jail.
According to the New York Post, 23-year-old Jenna Rose Gerwatowski revealed a clip on her TikTok page where she tells her followers that she decided to take a DNA test a few years back merely because it seemed "dope." Cutting to a year later when a detective from the Michigan State Police (MSP) called her at work, scaring her that she could be in trouble. She said with a chuckle, "Little did I know."
The video clip she posted as been viewed 1.3 million times since Wednesday, November 20th. In the video she said, "I was like, 'Excuse me? What the (expletive) did I do?' So I started freaking out." She said that the police officer told her he had reopened a cold case from 1997 and "your DNA is a direct match to the victim of this case."
Gerwatowski said she was only shocked when she was told it was about Baby Garnet, the well-known death of a "term or near-term" newborn found in an outhouse at Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan. Further official DNA testing confirmed that her mother was directly related to the child, meaning it had to be tied "to my mom's mother, identified as 61-year-old Nancy Gerwatowski, whom she had never met.
She said in the now-viral video, "I was mind blown. She is literally the (expletive) person they've been looking for 25 years and it's all because of a (expletive) Ancestry DNA kid." According to Click on Detroit, Nancy Gerwatowski was arrested back in 2022. She was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and concealing the death of an individual. In May 2024, a judge ruled that she will stand trial on murder charges.
Nancy reportedly admitted to being Baby Garnet's mother. She is thought to have given birth to the child at home where it died of asphyxiation, before she left the body in the outhouse. Prosecutors argue that the baby could have been saved if medical help had been sought. In October of 2023, Nancy was released on a personal recognizance bond and had to comply with GPS monitoring as well as home confinement.
If convicted, she faces the possibility of life in prison. The young TikTokker said that she never knew her grandmother, but knew all about the case she is now charged with. She said in the video, "This was a big deal in the town I grew up in because it was so (expletive) up."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel previously acknowledged the role of genetic testing and its advancements in solving long-standing cold cases. She said, "This is a testament to the persistence of law enforcement and the power of science. We are finally able to pursue justice for Baby Garnet, thanks to the tireless work of investigators and the technological progress that has made this possible."
According to court documents, a hearing is scheduled to be held on December 12th to decide if Nancy's statements made to law enforcement, her abortion consideration, and lack of prenatal healthcare can be used as evidence in the trial. The hearing will also decide whether or not to dismiss the concealing a death charge.
According to the New York Post, 23-year-old Jenna Rose Gerwatowski revealed a clip on her TikTok page where she tells her followers that she decided to take a DNA test a few years back merely because it seemed "dope." Cutting to a year later when a detective from the Michigan State Police (MSP) called her at work, scaring her that she could be in trouble. She said with a chuckle, "Little did I know."
The video clip she posted as been viewed 1.3 million times since Wednesday, November 20th. In the video she said, "I was like, 'Excuse me? What the (expletive) did I do?' So I started freaking out." She said that the police officer told her he had reopened a cold case from 1997 and "your DNA is a direct match to the victim of this case."
Gerwatowski said she was only shocked when she was told it was about Baby Garnet, the well-known death of a "term or near-term" newborn found in an outhouse at Garnet Lake Campground in Naubinway, Michigan. Further official DNA testing confirmed that her mother was directly related to the child, meaning it had to be tied "to my mom's mother, identified as 61-year-old Nancy Gerwatowski, whom she had never met.
She said in the now-viral video, "I was mind blown. She is literally the (expletive) person they've been looking for 25 years and it's all because of a (expletive) Ancestry DNA kid." According to Click on Detroit, Nancy Gerwatowski was arrested back in 2022. She was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and concealing the death of an individual. In May 2024, a judge ruled that she will stand trial on murder charges.
Nancy reportedly admitted to being Baby Garnet's mother. She is thought to have given birth to the child at home where it died of asphyxiation, before she left the body in the outhouse. Prosecutors argue that the baby could have been saved if medical help had been sought. In October of 2023, Nancy was released on a personal recognizance bond and had to comply with GPS monitoring as well as home confinement.
If convicted, she faces the possibility of life in prison. The young TikTokker said that she never knew her grandmother, but knew all about the case she is now charged with. She said in the video, "This was a big deal in the town I grew up in because it was so (expletive) up."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel previously acknowledged the role of genetic testing and its advancements in solving long-standing cold cases. She said, "This is a testament to the persistence of law enforcement and the power of science. We are finally able to pursue justice for Baby Garnet, thanks to the tireless work of investigators and the technological progress that has made this possible."
According to court documents, a hearing is scheduled to be held on December 12th to decide if Nancy's statements made to law enforcement, her abortion consideration, and lack of prenatal healthcare can be used as evidence in the trial. The hearing will also decide whether or not to dismiss the concealing a death charge.
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