JUNEAU, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A woman who disposed of her dead baby in 2009 was sentenced Friday to six months in jail.
Karin Luttinen, now 46, gave birth to the child, and then left the baby in Dodge County. DNA tests matched her to the child earlier this year.
Dodge County Judge Kristine Snow imposed but stayed a 3 1/2 year prison term in favor of three years on probation plus the jail time, court records show. Luttinen was also fined $5,000 and ordered to perform 60 hours of community service.
“Baby Theresa” was found April 29, 2009, in the town of Theresa. Her body was found in a bag about three miles from what is now Interstate 41.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators talked to Luttinen in March 2021. She admitted giving birth at home but said she was in denial that she was pregnant. She said she put the baby’s body in a garbage bag and then drove “aimlessly” on what was then U.S. Highway 41. She found a wooded area and left the baby’s body in the bag there, she told investigators.
About a month after the baby was discovered, community members paid for her burial and held a funeral for her.
Dodge County authorities said DNA samples from the baby helped them track down the girl’s mother. They used DNA from genealogy services to narrow down the baby’s likely relatives.
DNA test results identified the mother as Luttinen, and her partner as the baby’s father. Tests determined the baby was likely stillborn.
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