Jennifer Lebron faces charges over 25-year-old case

An Illinois woman has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of her newborn son, whose body was discovered in a rubbish bin nearly 25 years ago. Jennifer Lebron, 48, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The Chicago Tribune and joint statements from the Round Lake Beach Police Department and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed the arrest followed a breakthrough in genetic testing. The investigation originally began on August 26, 2001, when police officers found the deceased infant inside a bag in a dumpster behind a grocery store on Rollins Road in Round Lake Beach. Medical examiners determined that the baby had been born alive and subsequently died from suffocation.

In September 2001, authorities initially charged a different woman with first-degree murder in connection with the case. However, investigators later established that the accused woman had never actually been pregnant and had no involvement in the incident. Consequently, prosecutors dismissed the charges in October 2001, and the case remained cold for more than two decades.

The investigation was officially reopened in early 2024 when local detectives submitted the infant's DNA for genetic genealogy testing. The analysis revealed a match to a relative of the biological father, eventually leading investigators to identify both of the child's parents. Authorities have explicitly stated that the father is not suspected of any criminal wrongdoing or legal culpability in the death.

The deceased baby was later given the name "Jacob Hope" by the AMT Children of Hope Foundation, with support from the Lake County Public Guardian. Round Lake Beach Police Chief Ryan Rodriguez, who personally attended the scene in 2001, welcomed the breakthrough, stating that the child deserved dignity and justice. Lebron faces Class 3 felony charges as the legal process moves forward.