Ohio woman sentenced to 2 years in prison in 1992 death of ‘Baby April’

ROCK ISLAND Co., Ill (KWQC) - An Ohio woman was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison in connection with the 1992 death of her newborn baby girl known, as “Baby April.”

Angela Renee Siebke, 48, will receive day-for-day credit and credit for time served since her arrest in December 2020. Rock Island County Court records show she will be released Tuesday on furlough.

Siebke, who initially faced first-degree murder, pleaded guilty in November to endangering the life of a child resulting in death, a Class 3 felony, in Rock Island County Circuit Court.

A Class 3 felony is typically punishable by two to five years in prison, however, the endangerment charge is punishable by an enhanced sentence of two to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors say that on April 11, 1992, Siebke, then 18 and living in Orion, caused the baby’s death when she placed the girl in a bag.

That day, a man walking his dog found the body of a full-term baby girl in a plastic garbage bag floating along the bank of the Mississippi River off 17th Street in Moline, according to police.

According to police, the Rock Island County Coroner identified the cause of death as suffocation asphyxiation and hypothermia.

Baby April was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Moline several days after the discovery of her body.

In December 2014, former Rock Island-County State’s Attorney John McGehee announced he had filed a first-degree murder charge against an unknown female’s DNA profile found at the scene.

McGehee said at the time that although a suspect has not been identified, a DNA profile is specific enough to file a criminal charge under Illinois law.

Working with Virginia-based lab Parabon NanoLabs, Siebke was developed as a suspect, police said.

Moline detectives went to her home in Ohio and served her with a warrant for her DNA.

Siebke was arrested at the home of a family member in Rock Island in December 2020, according to police.

This is a developing story. TV6 will provide updates on-air and online.

Copyright 2022 KWQC. All rights reserved.