Background: The Green County Justice Center in Monroe, Wis. (Google Maps). Inset: Logan Kruckenberg Anderson (Green County Sheriff”s Office).
A Wisconsin man accused of fatally shooting his newborn daughter and leaving her in the woods when he was a teenager is preparing to go to trial.
Logan Kruckenberg Anderson, 21, was 16 years old when he allegedly shot his newborn daughter, Harper, and left her body in the woods, covered in snow. According to the Green County District Attorney’s Office, Kruckenberg Anderson’s then-teenage girlfriend gave birth to Harper on Jan. 5, 2021, in a home in Albany, a small village around 30 miles south of Madison. Days later, the baby girl was found dead, and the teen father was charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding the corpse of a child.
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According to a criminal complaint obtained by local NBC affiliate WMTV, the mother of the baby gave birth in a bathtub. The girl’s father called 911 days later, reportedly saying that the girl took the baby out of the house and he had not seen the baby since.
When the girl was questioned by investigators with the Green County Sheriff’s Office, she reportedly told them that she and Kruckenberg Anderson decided that they could not keep the baby. Kruckenberg Anderson reportedly told deputies that the couple contacted someone named Tyler on Snapchat to take Harper to an adoption agency. Kruckenberg Anderson told police that he gave Tyler $60 for completing the task.
However, Kruckenberg Anderson’s story reportedly changed. According to the complaint, he allegedly admitted to taking Harper to the woods, covering her naked body with snow, and leaving her to die of exposure. When he walked away from the days-old baby, he heard her crying.
After Kruckenberg Anderson led investigators to the baby’s body, crime scene technicians determined that Harper had been shot. He allegedly told police that he shot the baby twice in the head.
According to the complaint, an unnamed juvenile turned a firearm in to the sheriff’s office, saying that Kruckenberg Anderson had given it to him days before. The firearm matched the two bullets that were found near Harper’s body.
Kruckenberg Anderson was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding the corpse of a child. On Tuesday, he appeared in a Green County court for his final pretrial appearance. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 27.
No charges were filed against Harper’s mother.
