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The Michigan Attorney General’s office announces a former Upper Peninsula resident will stand trial for the 1997 Baby Garnet murder. On Friday the 92nd district court in St. Ignace issued a bind over Option and order for Nancy Gerwatowski, 69 years old from Pinedale, Wyoming, and former resident of Newberry. Through the use of familial genetic genealogical tracing, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, leading investigators to obtain a genetic search warrant for Gerwatowski to confirm parentage.
The state alleges that in June 1997, Gerwatowski disposed of the infant’s remains at the Garnet Lake Campground in Hudson Township. An autopsy of the victim at the time determined that the infant had been at term or near term, and died due to asphyxiation. The state believes that Gerwatowski gave birth to the child at home in Newberry before driving 20 miles to the Lake Garnet Campground to dispose of the body.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessell says that the incredible work of Michigan State police, Mackinac County Sheriff devices, and the FBI across three decades was able to pursue justice for the Baby Garnet. Adding that 1997 genetic testing was nowhere near as sophisticated as today’s processes. Gerwatowski will appear again in the 11th Circuit Court in Mackinac County. That trial date has not been set.Learn more about the trial here.
