ST. IGNACE, Mich – A judge in the Upper Peninsula has ruled that a mother will stand trial on murder charges in the 1997 death of a baby found in an outhouse.
The baby girl was found in the waste pit of a Garnet Lake campground outhouse in 1997 and was known as “Baby Garnet.”
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Nancy Ann Gerwatowski, 60, has been charged with open murder, involuntary manslaughter and concealing the death of an individual.
Investigators said Gerwatowski, 60, confirmed to them that she is the child’s mother.
The case came under review in 2017 when investigators turned to forensic genetic genealogy to search for answers. Authorities said additional DNA testing of Gerwatowski in 2022 confirmed her parentage. She was arrested and charged that year.
A worker discovered Baby Garnet on June 26, 1997, while emptying a septic pit at the campground. The baby was estimated to be nearly full-term.
Authorities believe Gerwatowski delivered the newborn alone at her Newberry home, where Baby Garnet died due to asphyxiation, and the death could have been prevented by medical intervention that Gerwatowski did not seek. She then allegedly hid the newborn’s body in an outhouse at the campground in Hudson, more than 20 miles out of town.
If convicted, Gerwatowski faces the possibility of life in prison.
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