An Ancestry DNA kit broke a 27-year-old Michigan cold case!

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⬇️ Lansing, Michigan Open Cold Case Files ⬇️

TikToker Makes Family Connection In Baby Garnet Case

A Michigan Tiktoker, JennaRose, decides to open up about her connection to the Baby Garnet case.

Roughly two years ago, Jenna and her best friend took an Ancestry DNA kit. This is where everything in Jenna's life changed.

After receiving her DA results, everything was "fine." A year later, Jenna received a phone call while at work from the Michigan State Police out of St. Ignace.

Jenna Rose via TikTok
Jenna Rose via TikTok
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Rightfully so, she began to freak out since there was no reason for the Michigan State Police to be calling her.

The police officer informed Jenna that he was reopening a cold case from 27 years ago. This is where the bombshell of a lifetime drops on Jenna's head.

"He was like your DNA is a direct match to the victim of the case."

The case in question is the Baby Garnet case from 1997. Once the initial shock wore off, the officer told her that a Chicago woman would be reaching out to ask permission to use her DNA in a larger database.

Rightfully so, once Jenna got in contact with the woman, she believed this was a scam. That was until her cousin showed up at their home, informing Jenna and her mother that this was, indeed, legit.

Jenna Rose via TikTok
Jenna Rose via TikTok
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With this information, after calling the woman back, Jenna's DNA came back as a match to an indirect relative.

Michigan State Police was able to get Jenna's mother's permission to test her DNA and this is where another bombshell dropped.

"They ended up finding out that it's not a distant relative to my mom, but a direct relative."

However, the only direct relative that it could have been was her mother's mother. Once Michigan State Police dug more into the investigation, they realized that it was Jenna's grandmother.

In her TikTok video, Jenna made it a point to mention that she had never met her grandmother.

Can you imagine being the catalyst for helping the police break a 27-year cold case?

The Baby Garnet Case

On June 26, 1997, a worker discovered a baby girl, later known as “Baby Garnet,” in the waste pit of a Garnet Lake campground outhouse.

However, on May 10th, 2024, Judge Beth Ann Gibson of the 92nd District Court in St. Ignace issued an Opinion and Order binding over Nancy Gerwatowski to stand trial for the cold-case murder of an infant discovered 27 years ago.

If Gerwatowski is convicted, she could face the possibility of life in prison.

Lansing, Michigan Open Cold Case Files

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

Livingston County, Michigan Cold Cases

The county of Livingston is located in Michigan's lower region, closer to Detroit. Home of Fowlerville, Brighton and Howell to name a few small towns in its range. Of those locations, there are only two open cold cases, and one forty-year-old cold case that had been recently solved. Take a look at a few of the cold cases, below.

Gallery Credit: Nathan Vandenburg