Woman charged after baby found dead in north suburban dumpster in 2001 appears in court

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (WLS) -- The 48-year-old woman charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a baby in 2001 appeared in Lake County court Wednesday.

She was released pending her next court appearance.

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Jennifer Lebron, the mother of the child, has been accused of being involved in the death of the newborn, who was found dead in a bag in a dumpster behind a Rollins Road grocery store in Round Lake Beach on Aug. 26, 2001.

The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force initially investigated, and another woman was charged with first-degree murder in September of 2001. Those charges were later dropped.

The current police chief and head of investigations were both rookie officers with the Round Lake Beach Police Department when officers responded to a neighbor's report of what she initially believed was a doll in a dumpster near the police station. The coroner later confirmed the body was that of a newborn boy.

Police said the identity of the person who left the baby in the dumpster remained unknown for years.

"Every department has a case that goes unsolved, that is unforgettable that they have a drive to find closure on, and that would be our case, this case," Cmdr. Paul Grace said.

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Grace and Chief Ryan Rodriguez were both on the scene in August 2001 and, according to police, never gave up hope of identifying the person responsible.

In early 2024, Round Lake Beach investigators reopened the case and submitted the child's DNA for genetic genealogy testing, officials said.

The testing identified a genetic match to someone related to the infant's father, which eventually led investigators to identify both the infant's father and mother, officials said.

"We were able to determine from him a likely suspect," Grace said.

The father is not suspected of any criminal activity, according to officials.

According to Grace, the father lives in Arkansas and was unaware of the baby or the circumstances surrounding the case.

Rodriguez said the case was especially difficult because investigators learned the child's father did not know he had a son.

"You're talking about this child that was murdered, killed by his mother. And you find out the father was not even aware he was a father. That's heartbreaking," Rodriguez said.

Police also noted that Illinois' Safe Haven law allows newborns to be surrendered at police stations, fire stations or hospitals without questions being asked. The law was adopted in Illinois about a week before the newborn boy was found in the dumpster, according to police.