Baby Angel complaint:
On or about September 5, 2011, at approximately 2:22 pm, Winona County Sheriffs Deputies (collectively “Deputies”) responded to a call concerning a deceased newborn that was found floating in the Mississippi River. The infant was found inside a bag floating on the Minnesota side of the river within the border of Winona County, Minnesota, approximately seven miles south of the City of Winona. The bag containing the infant was found floating in the water by boaters. The inside of the bag also contained a pendant, incense, and several angel figurines.

On September 6, 2011, an autopsy was conducted on the infant. The medical examiner determined the infant appeared to be full-term and was likely a recent birth within a day or two. The infant had a four-inch section of the umbilical cord attached that appeared to have been cut with a sharp-edged instrument. It did not appear the umbilical cord was cut by a medical provider which indicated the infant did not receive medical treatment during or after birth.  The medical examiner noted several fractures on the front and side of the infant’s skull.

There was bleeding on the brain. There was no evidence of medical intervention on the infant. A 2024 updated autopsy review concluded this “normally developed term female infant sustained injuries of the head while alive.”

The evidence shows the skull fractures were sustained while the infant was alive. This is not the type of injury that would have occurred with the assistance of a medical professional during delivery. The incidents of skull fractures during a medically assisted delivery are very low and generally occur in only 2.9% of cases where forceps were used during the birthing process. There is no evidence that medical care was provided during or immediately after delivery. The resultant brain hemorrhages from the skull fractures could have been treated medically and decreased the likelihood of death.

The funeral for Baby Angel was 5 April 2012.

Jennifer Nichole Baechle, 43, is facing two counts of second-degree manslaughter for allegedly placing her newborn in a white tote bag and sending it down the Mississippi River in 2011.

➡️ 24 April 2025 court hearing: Baechle’s unconditional bail was set at $200,000 with her conditional bail set at $20,000 provided that she doesn’t leave the state and is monitored via a GPS. The next court hearing is scheduled for 7 July 2025.

Jennifer Baechle complaint:
On or about May 24, 2023, Deputies requested Defendant provide a voluntary DNA sample. Defendant requested time to think about giving a sample and said she would get back in touch with Deputies. On June 1, 2023, Defendant requested additional time to research the company Deputies were using for genealogy analysis. Deputies then received a letter from a criminal defense lawyer requesting any future contact with Defendant be made through counsel.

Deputies conducted a trash pull search of Defendant’s trash. Deputies collected the trash that was set outside for pickup by the trash collection company. A search of the trash bags revealed information connected to Defendant’s household. Deputies also located a discarded female hygiene product. These items were sent to the BCA laboratory for testing and comparison to the DNA of the infant. The BCA’s report on the DNA testing and comparison confirmed that the infant, found in the bag floating in the Mississippi River on September 5, 2011, could be the biological child of Defendant.

On or about March 19, 2024, Deputies served a search warrant on Defendant to collect DNA. Defendant’s DNA was submitted to the BCA laboratory for testing. The DNA test results indicated the genetic results obtained from the unidentified female infant are 570,000 times more likely to occur in a biological child of Defendant than in someone unrelated to Defendant. The report concluded that this was very strong evidence to support the biological relationship between Defendant and the unidentified female infant as being a biological mother daughter relationship. As the biological mother of the infant, Defendant had a duty to seek medical care on behalf of the infant during pregnancy, birth, and immediately after birth.

Deputies spoke with members of Defendant’s family. The family told Deputies they had not had personal contact with Defendant during 2011. They said Defendant was living in her van in the Winona, Minnesota, area in 2011. Deputies showed Defendant’s family members photographs of the items found with the infant in the bag. Family members immediately recognized the blue pendant as belonging to Defendant. Deputies were also told that Defendant collected angels. They described giving an angel ornament to Defendant every Christmas.

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Just after 2 am on 19 July 1984, Robert A. Miller was murdered inside his south Minneapolis apartment at 3209 Girard Ave South. The case has been cold ever since.

Robert Millers family members thought the case would never be solved!

STATEMENT OF PROBABLE CAUSE

Complainant has investigated the facts and circumstances of this offense and believes the following establishes probable cause:

On July 19, 1984, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Minneapolis police officers responded to multiple 911 calls made from an apartment building located at 3209 Girard Avenue South in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. When officers arrived, two adult females rushed out of the apartment building. The first, Victim 2 (3/3/1951), had a bleeding cut to the left side of her face. The other woman, Witness 1 (5/13/1952), was uninjured but extremely distraught. They reported that an unknown male had broken into their apartment and attacked them with a knife.

Officers entered the apartment and observed the body of a deceased adult male, Victim 1 (8/10/1951) on the floor in a pool of blood near a bedroom doorway. Victim 1 had clearly been stabbed multiple times. An autopsy later revealed that Victim 1 died from numerous stab wounds to his face, head, chest, back, and shoulders.

Police observed that the apartment’s kitchen door, which led to a back exit, was wide open. Crime lab personnel inspected the scene and determined this was the suspect’s likely path of flight from the murder, as there was blood along the route that did not appear to come from Victim 1. Your complainant is aware that it is common for persons wielding a bladed weapon to unintentionally cut themselves during an attack. Crime lab gathered samples of the blood from the kitchen floor, the back exit hallway, and the back exit doorknob.

In 2018, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) developed a DNA profile from blood collected from the kitchen floor and back exit doorknob. Over the next few years, investigators consulted with a genealogist and determined that, based on the DNA profile, Defendant MATTHEW RUSSELL BROWN (3/15/1957) was a suspect. Investigators made multiple attempts to surreptitiously obtain a DNA sample from Defendant and were unsuccessful. Finally, in March of 2023, Police collected a disposable plastic cup that Defendant had used.

The BCA obtained a major male DNA profile from the plastic cup, compared it to the DNA profile obtained from the blood at the crime scene, and determined that the profiles matched. 27CR2311020

Charges:

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On 18 June 1999 after seeing a sketch of Katie’s abductor, one of Blom’s coworkers contacted the police to report Blom as a possible suspect based on his belief that Blom had behaved suspiciously during the week of the abduction.

Police located Blom after midnight on 20 June 1999 at a campground near Alexandria, Minnesota.   The police questioned him about Katie’s abduction and he denied any involvement.   He said he had been at his property near Moose Lake on 14 or 15 May 1999 and again on 12 June 1999. Blom said that on 26 May 1999 he left work early and went fishing on the Kettle River, a mile or two south of Sandstone, but claimed he was home in Richfield by between 7:00 and 8:00 pm.

On 20 June 1999, the police arrested Blom. At a police line-up the day following Blom’s arrest, a witness positively identified Blom as the man she had seen on the convenience store property the night of 26 May 1999.

Blom, a convicted sex offender, admitted to strangling her, and burning her body on his property near Moose Lake. Blom initially confessed, then later recanted the confession, claiming that solitary confinement and medications caused him to confess.  Authorities determined the charred bone fragments and tooth that they recovered from his fire pit were Katie.

Katie’s law: TOUGH GOP CRIME PREVENTION BILL PASSES UNANIMOUSLY

Blom died Tuesday 10 January 2023 of natural causes.  He lived to long!  He was in prison for 23 years, and died at the age of 73.

Views: 34

At about 3:30 p.m. on May 8, 1979, 18-year-old Marlys Wohlenhaus was discovered by her mother in a downstairs room of their Afton home covered in blood with her head “bashed in.”   Wohlenhaus had several star-shaped cuts on her scalp and her skull was fractured.   The injuries caused uncontrollable bleeding and severe brain injury. Wohlenhaus was hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery, but the next day she was taken off a respirator and pronounced dead.   An autopsy also revealed broken fingers and bruises on both hands.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department investigated the murder and had several leads.   The leads included a neighbor who saw a car fishtail out of Wohlenhaus’s driveway at about 3:15 p.m. on May 8, the day Wohlenhaus was assaulted.   Also, a friend of Wohlenhaus testified that on the night before Wohlenhaus’s death, she and Wohlenhaus had been at a restaurant in Afton and Wohlenhaus had appeared upset upon seeing a man sitting in the back of the restaurant.   The man had light blond hair and was wearing a leather coat, sunglasses, and a baseball cap.   The man apparently followed the two women on a motorcycle after they left the restaurant.   Despite the investigation of several suspects, no one was charged in connection with Wohlenhaus’s death.

In 1998, Joseph Donald Ture, Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder for the May 1979 death of Marlys Wohlenhaus.

You can read Ture’s appeal here: Supreme Court of Minnesota. Joseph Donald TURE, Jr., petitioner, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent.

48 Hours The Murder Of Marlys Wohlenhaus Forensic Files

Views: 110

Joint press conference regarding State of Minnesota v. Nicholas Firkus case:

Case information and documents:

• Ramsey County Attorney’s Office press release (May 20, 2021)
• Criminal complaint outlining charges (May 17, 2021)
• Press conference regarding charging decision (May 20, 2021)

Nick married Rachel [Heidi’s friend] in 2012. They have 4 children and divorced in 2019. Firkus was arrested 19 May 2021 and charged with second degree murder. He’s had his first court appearance and bail us set at $3m.

St. Paul Police found a woman dead and her husband shot after responding to a burglary report at 6:30 a.m. April 25, 2010 in St. Paul.
Wcco.com

St. Paul Police are investigation a shooting the left a woman dead and her husband injured.

It happened around 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning in the 1700 block of West Minnehaha Avenue in St Paul.

Many who live along West Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul say they find it hard to believe someone in their neighborhood was shot and killed in their own home.

“They were very quiet. They would say hello but basically kept to themselves,” said neighbor Carrie Donovan.

St. Paul Police say they were called to the two-story home after a 911 call was made claiming someone was trying to break into the house.

The call was interrupted.

By the time police were dispatched, a second call came into 911 claiming shots were fired and two people were hit.

Heidi Firkus, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her husband, 27-year-old Nicholas Firkus, was taken to Regions Hospital where he was treated, released and then questioned by police.

Nicholas Firkus told investigators he and his wife Heidi were upstairs and heard a noise at the door.

He armed himself with a double barrel shotgun and he and his wife went downstairs to check things out.

“He was confronted by a man who was now coming through the front door of the home. A struggle ensued over the shotgun,” said Sgt. Paul Schnell. “The shotgun went off, the wife was shot. He said that the struggle continued at which time he was shot. The suspect then left the home and he went to tend to his wife.”

Police say Nicholas Firkus has a vague description of the man he says broke into his home.

“The home was secured, there was no sign of forced entry,” said Schnell.

Police say two shots were fired but so far their search of the home has not turned up evidence of a struggle.

“We have a report from this man. We have both he and his wife were shot and at this point in time investigators are going to follow the evidence in this case and there is a lot of processing to be done here,” said Schnell.

Nicholas Firkus told investigators the man who committed this crime was about 6-foot to 6-foot, 2 inches tall and weighing 200 to 220 pounds. He was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt but police say Nicholas Firkus could not determine the man’s race.

Investigators did recover the shotgun from the scene and will continue to process the house looking for clues they hope will lead them to a killer.

This is the seventh homicide this year in St. Paul.

Investigators say an autopsy will be performed on Heidi Firkus on Monday. By then processing of the scene should be complete. That’s when investigators say they will speak with Nicholas Firkus again.

St. Paul woman’s death ruled a homicide
Startribune.com [http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/92270894.html]

An autopsy showed that Heidi Marie Firkus, 25, died from a gunshot wound to her back, St. Paul police said Tuesday.

The manner of death was ruled a homicide, said spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell.

Firkus was shot in the kitchen of her home at 1794 W. Minnehaha Av. on Sunday during what her husband described as a struggle with an intruder over a shotgun.

Her husband, Nick, 27, told police that when he confronted the intruder at 6:30 a.m., the weapon fired, killing Heidi. He was wounded in the leg when the gun discharged a second time, he told police.

Schnell said police investigators cleared the scene about 2 p.m. Tuesday after two days of seeking clues at the house.

“There will be a considerable amount of lab processing that will take place,” he said.

No arrests had been made, he said.

Nick Firkus told police he confronted a tall intruder wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt. He was unable to provide details, including the assailant’s race, police said.

No evidence of a break-in was found, police said.

Husband Not Ruled Out In Unsolved St. Paul Murder

Wcco.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — One year after a St. Paul woman was shot in her home, police are still looking for her killer. Nick Firkus told police his wife, Heidi Firkus, was shot at home while he was fighting off an intruder. Detectives have not ruled out Nick Firkus as a suspect.

“This is a very complicated case,” said Senior Commander Bill Martinez of the St. Paul Police Department.

For the last year, Martinez has been focused on Heidi Firkus.

“Not a day goes by that we don’t touch this case, we think about Heidi and try to bring some justice to her and closure to her family,” said Martinez.

It was April 25, 2010, when officers arrived to her home on Minnehaha Avenue. She had been shot to death and her husband, Nick Firkus, was shot in the leg.

Nick Firkus told officers he was fighting off an intruder. A composite sketch was made and the public was asked to help.

“Typically we would get people calling saying, ‘I think this looks like this guy. I think it looks like this guy,’ but that has not happened,” said Martinez.

“Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Joe Friedberg, Nick Firkus’ attorney.

Detectives have yet to rule out Nick Firkus as a suspect. They’ve asked him to speak to police a second time. The last time they questioned him was shortly after his wife was killed.

“So there are a lot of questions we have that we’re still working to get answers to,” said Martinez

But Friedberg said he’s told his client not to talk.

“They’re looking to find a few little inconsistencies that they can use to claim that he’s lying and I’m not going to let that happen,” said Friedberg.

Detectives would also like Nick Firkus to answer questions about the couple’s financial problems. A search warrant filed last year shows the couple’s home was about to be foreclosed on April 26.

However, the warrant said nothing in the home had been packed. Heidi Firkus’ family also told investigators she wasn’t aware of the money issues.

Nick Firkus’ attorney said that’s not true.

“These are kids that decided they wanted out. They were underwater on their house and they lived in it rent free as long as they could and were going to move to an apartment,” said Friedberg.

“We aren’t rushing judgment on him,” said Martinez.

In a murder investigation, those closest to the victim are often put under the microscope, but Friedberg believes it’s time for police to start looking elsewhere.

“Everybody said that they had a great marriage. I don’t know what else we could do,” said Friedberg.

Views: 97