Two babies were found in the Mississippi River in Goodhu County many years ago.
The Goodhu County Sheriff and the Minnesota Criminal Bureau said Monday that 50-year-old Jennifer Lynn Mater of Belvedere has been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the 2003 case.
Through DNA tests, authorities learned that Mater was the mother of a boy who was found dead in Pepin Lake on December 7, 2003. Four years earlier, on November 4, 1999, a girl was found dead in the Mississippi Harbor. . The BCA says DNA confirms that this is also Mater’s child.
“The tenacity of several investigators in our office to get justice for these babies and the perseverance of our community that helped us find answers brought us here today,” said Goodhu County Sheriff Marty Kelly. “We pray that today’s arrest and the accusations ensure a certain closure of all those affected.”
“I want to acknowledge the perseverance, hard work and dedication of our law enforcement professionals who have put so much effort into resolving this case,” Goodwy County Attorney Stephen O’Keefe added.
Jennifer Lynn Mater (Goodhu County Sheriff’s Office)
The criminal complaint alleges that a Goodhu County investigator who joined the case in 2020 found two people of interest in the 1999 case. By comparing DNA samples, the BCA Crime Lab was able to identify the child’s father , found in 1999. Then, on May 2, 2022 – a week after Matter’s interview – the authorities received an order for a DNA sample from her, which confirmed that the connection to the babies.
Mater then told authorities she was in poor mental health in 1999, saying she went in and out of prison, drank heavily and did not know she was pregnant. Then, when she left her other children at school and kindergarten, she began to bleed and later gave birth in her bathroom, the complaint said.
She told authorities that the child was blue and not breathing and was scared, the complaint said. One day, she took the baby to Bay Point Park in the middle of the night and dropped her into the water.
Regarding the second baby, Mater said she was “almost positive” that she was alone on a public beach when she gave birth, adding that she was trying to calm down due to an arrest warrant at the time. According to the complaint, Mater said she remembered leaving the child on the beach and then walking away, saying the child was breathing well and hoped someone nearby would find him.
Mater has a bail hearing on Tuesday morning. No charges have yet been filed in the 1999 case.
You can watch the full press conference announcing the arrest in the video player above.
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