23-year-old takes DNA test, now her grandma is in jail

USA - Jenna Gerwatowski (23) actually just wanted to take a DNA test for fun. But the result was so explosive that her grandmother is now in prison.

Jenna Gerwatowski (23) says that she actually only wanted to do the DNA test for fun.
Jenna Gerwatowski (23) says that she actually only wanted to do the DNA test for fun.  © Screenshot/Instagram/__jennarose__

Because her friend got a FamilyTreeDNA test for Christmas, the US-American decided to order a kit too - without knowing the consequences. She has now recounted the exciting case in an interview withCNN.

In May 2022, while she was working in the flower store, she suddenly received a call from an unknown number. On the other end of the line: a detective from the Michigan State Police.

"He said: 'Have you heard about the Baby Garnet case?" This was the unsolved case of a baby's body found in a pit toilet at Garnet Lake Campground (Michigan) in 1997. There were no clues as to who the child's parents might be. The case was eventually closed.

The officer told Jenna that her DNA matched that of the dead baby. This means that the now 23-year-old is related to the child.

According to court documents, investigators reopened the cold case in 2017 and then worked with a forensics company to extract DNA from Baby Garnet's partial femur.

Completely shocked by the events, Jenna told her mother that evening. They couldn't really make sense of it after the investigator called, so they assumed it was a fraud.

Investigations bring family tragedy to light

The DNA kit is sent home, where you have to give a saliva sample. (symbolic image)
The DNA kit is sent home, where you have to give a saliva sample. (symbolic image)  © 123RF/microgen

That evening, when Misty Gillis, then a senior forensic genealogist, called and demanded that Jenna hand over the FamilyTreeDNA password so she could upload her DNA to a separate database, the skepticism was even greater.

"I hung up without even thinking twice about it. [...] I just thought, how weird. What a weird thing to scam people with," Jenna said.

A week later, however, the police turned up at the family's house. Jenna, who was at work, immediately rushed home, where her mother and cousin were waiting.

"My mother had tears in her eyes," she said. According to court documents, an analysis of Jenna's DNA test revealed that she was the half-niece of baby Garnet, her mother Kara the half-sister.

Prosecutors believe that Jenna's grandmother, with whom neither she nor her mother Kara have contact, gave birth to the baby in her home. Death by suffocation could have been prevented if Grandma Nancy had sought medical help.

Jenna also reports on the story on TikTok

Nancy's lawyers defend themselves against charges

However, Nancy's defense argues that she gave birth unexpectedly in the bathtub and that the fetus was "trapped in her birth canal." She had "tried to pull the fetus out of her own body". In the meantime, Nancy lost consciousness and the baby died shortly afterwards.

Because she did not have a telephone, she was unable to dial the emergency number. In shock, she put the fetus in a bag and left the remains at the campsite.

Nancy is charged with open murder, manslaughter and covering up the death of a person. Open murder can be punished with a life sentence. In a hearing Thursday, Nancy's defense argued that the charges against her should be dropped entirely because the state can't prove the baby was born alive.

A decision will be made next week on how to proceed.