March 03--McHenry County prosecutors are seeking court permission to bury a baby boy who died in 1992 and whose remains were recently discovered in the coroner's office.
The request sheds a bit more light on the mysterious case of the child dubbed by authorities Baby Reinert. Last week, officials announced a grand jury indictment against Marlene Lantz, the longtime former county coroner, for official misconduct and forgery, alleging that she failed to dispose properly of the baby's remains and signed a document that falsely indicated that he had been buried and that his parents were unknown.
In a legal request filed Monday in circuit court, prosecutors said the baby was found dead in the bathroom of Wag's Restaurant in Crystal Lake on March 12, 1992.
Crystal Lake police soon determined the identity of the mother, who said she had miscarried in the restaurant bathroom, according to the court motion. The baby weighed about 3 1/2 pounds, with an estimated gestational age of 7 1/2 to eight months, the court motion stated, citing an autopsy report.
No charges were filed in the initial case, police said.
Since then, the legal filing stated, the child's remains had been kept wrapped in a bag inside a cardboard box in the cooler of the county morgue. On Jan. 21 of this year, the coroner who replaced Lantz, Dr. Anne Majewski, learned members of her staff had discovered the baby's body, which was decomposed and mummified, the motion states.
By law, the coroner is legally obligated to see that the body is decently buried, cremated or donated for medicinal science purposes.
The body is being held as evidence in the case, and Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs asked Monday to have it buried within 21 days, which would allow time for the defense to examine the body.
Lantz's attorney, Mark Gummerson, could not be reached immediately for a response to the request. He previously denied the allegations against Lantz and promised a vigorous defense.
Lantz was coroner from 1988 until her retirement in 2012.
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
