Theresa, Wis. (WKOW) -- The Dodge County Sheriff, medical examiner and district attorney announced Friday the identification and arrest of a suspect in an infant death investigation cold case from 2009.
Karin Luttinen, 45, from Milwaukee was formally charged with concealing the death of a child.
Dodge County investigators said they found the body of a newborn baby in April 2009 abandoned in a garbage bag in the Village of Theresa. An autopsy concluded that the baby was not murdered, but rather died prior to or during birth.
In 2014, the sheriff's office and district attorney filed charges against the baby's mother's DNA profile, only identified as Jane Doe at the time, so the six-year statute of limitations did not run out.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said a DNA match in 2021 identified Luttinen as Baby Theresa's mother.
According to the criminal complaint, Luttinen said she concealed her pregnancy from everyone she knew. She told police that she recalled passing out in a bathtub for about 15 minutes after giving birth. When she came to, she said the baby was "totally still" and her "eyes were closed." Luttinen said she wrapped the baby in a towel and placed her in a bag. She then drove to Theresa and left the baby "in the woods as a final resting place."
Luttinen said she feared her relationship with the baby's father could end if he became aware of the pregnancy or the birth. At least as of last year, the couple remained together.
Authorities say Luttinen has avoided any criminal activity and has worked in sales and marketing during the past thirteen years.
Luttinen was in Dodge County Court with her attorney Friday for an initial appearance on the single felony charge. The judge accepted an agreement between the district attorney and Luttinen to set bail at $2,500. Luttinen also waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Her next court date remains to be set.
Luttinen posted bail at the clerk of court's office shortly after her initial appearance.
27 News interviewed Luttinen and her attorney as she was leaving the courthouse. Luttinen declined to specify why she never came forward to reveal being Baby Theresa's mother before being criminally charged. In response to that question, her attorney Aneeq Ahmad told reporter Tony Galli, "We will in due time throughout this process. All of this stuff will be discussed."
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