Round Lake Beach, IL – Nearly 25 years after a newborn infant was found dead in a bag behind a grocery store, a Lake County woman has been arrested and charged following a renewed investigation that relied on forensic genetic genealogy.
According to a joint news release from the Round Lake Beach Police Department and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, Jennifer Lebron, 48, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, Class 3 felonies, in connection with the death of her newborn child in August 2001.
Police said officers responded on Aug. 26, 2001, after the infant was discovered inside a bag in a dumpster behind a grocery store on Rollins Road. At the time, investigators with the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force launched an investigation.
Authorities said a different woman was initially charged with first-degree murder in September 2001. However, investigators later determined she had never been pregnant and was not involved in the infant’s death. The charges were dismissed in October 2001, and the case went cold.
According to investigators, the case was reopened in early 2024, when detectives submitted the child’s DNA for forensic genetic genealogy testing. The testing identified a genetic match to a relative of the infant’s father, ultimately leading investigators to identify both the father and the child’s mother, Jennifer Lebron. Officials said the father is not suspected of any criminal activity.
The infant was later given the name “Jacob Hope” by AMT Children of Hope, with assistance from the Lake County Public Guardian, to honor the child.
Police said investigators interviewed Lebron, reviewed additional evidence, and worked closely with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office before prosecutors approved the involuntary manslaughter charges.
Round Lake Beach Police Chief Ryan Rodriguez called the arrest the result of decades of persistence by investigators, while Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart praised the work of current and retired detectives who helped bring the cold case to this point.
Lebron was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and is scheduled to appear in court. Authorities emphasized that the charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
