Milwaukee woman sentenced for hiding baby’s death in 2009

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JUNEAU, Wis. (AP) — A Milwaukee woman convicted of hiding the death of her newborn baby more than a dozen years ago was sentenced Friday to six months in jail, but can avoid prison time if she completes terms of her probation.

A judge ordered Karin Luttinen, 46, to serve three years of probation, during which time she must spend time in a Dodge County jail, perform 60 hours of community service, undergo mental health counseling and pay a $5,000 fine. Luttinen can avert an 18-month prison term if she follows those instructions.

The complaint in the “Baby Theresa” case said Luttinen gave birth to the baby girl in a bathtub in April 2009. She told authorities the umbilical cord was wrapped around the newborn’s neck and she blacked out and woke up in a panic. She put the baby in a trash bag and left it in the woods outside of the town of Theresa. A wood cutter found the baby later that month.

Luttinen pleaded guilty in April to a felony count of concealing the death of a child.

Investigators cracked the case after developing a DNA profile of the baby’s mother using a maxi pad wrapper that was in the trash bag with the baby’s body. Experts eventually used a genetic analysis of the profile’s family tree to key in on Luttinen.