$750K Conditional Bail For Red Wing Woman Charged in Baby’s Death
Red Wing, MN (KROC-AM News) - Conditional bail was set at $750,000 Tuesday for the Red Wing area woman charged with causing the death of her newborn son 19 years ago.
50-year-old Jennifer Matter was arraigned late this morning in Goodhue County Court on two counts of second-degree murder stemming from the death of the infant in 2003. The baby was found in Lake Pepin at Frontenac in December of that year. His death, along with the deaths of two other newborns found in the Mississippi River in 1999 and 2007, had long stumped investigators.
The charges against Matter were announced during a news conference on Monday during which officials indicated DNA testing and analysis by a genetic genealogy company led to the identification of the woman as the mother of two of the deceased infants. The criminal complaint against Matter indicates she also gave birth to the newborn girl who was found dead in the river at Red Wing in 1999.
She has not been charged in that case and officials say there is no connection between the two deaths linked to Matter and the death of a third infant who was found at the Treasure Island Marina in 2007. That case remains unsolved.
Matter is scheduled to return to court on May 25th.