TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo woman will spend 25 years in prison after being charged with involuntary manslaughter for her infant children's death.
Cisneros changed her plea from not guilty to no contest on Aug. 18.
Jenna Cisneros, 34, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice. As part of her plea, the two endangering children charges merged with the two involuntary manslaughter charges, which means she will be sentenced on the involuntary manslaughter charges on Sept. 9.
A no contest plea means Cisneros is not admitting guilt but is not objecting to the charges. By entering this plea, she is giving up her right to trial.
Jenna Cisneros ultimately faced a maximum of 34 years in prison.
The investigation
Two babies were found wrapped up in blankets under the dashboard of two separate cars. Baby Doe #1 which was a boy was discovered on Vaness Drive in May 2017. The case remained unsolved and the baby's identity unknown.
In November 2019, the Toledo Police Department and the Cold Case Investigative Unit at the Lucas County Prosecutors Office submitted DNA samples to AdvanceDNA which is a genetic genealogy firm. The firm used ancestry databases to confirm the infant was genetically related to a person who lived on Vaness Drive and was a blood relative to Jacob Cisneros, Jenna's husband. The database also revealed that Jenna Cisneros was likely the mother of the child.
The couple was arrested after DNA evidence confirmed Jenna and Jacob Cisneros were the biological parents of Baby Doe. It was during this investigation that detectives discovered the mummified body of Baby Doe #2, a girl, located in a car registered to Jacob Cisneros.
The babies' cause of death couldn't be determined.
During a search of the Cisneros mobile home, detectives found bedding matching the bedding that Baby Doe #2 was wrapped in inside Jacob's vehicle.
Detectives also believe Jenna gave birth to the baby inside her home.
There were no birth records for either children.
During his statement in court Tuesday, Frank Spryszak, a prosecutor for Lucas County, said if the case had gone to trial, the state would've proven that Jenna Cisneros carried both babies to full term, did not engage in prenatal care, and did not take any steps to ensure the health and safety of the babies when they were born. The lack and duty of care resulted in the death of each child.
In addition, Spryszak said Jenna Cisneros hid both babies bodies to evade law enforcement and when confronted, she lied about the pregnancies and giving birth to the children.
According to Spryszak, witnesses reported that they saw Jenna pregnant in 2018.
A former co-worker of Jenna's had provided text conversations in which Jenna indicated she was pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl at Flower Hospital on October 22, 2018. She further indicated that the baby was suffering from heart complications and was transferred to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor where she died of heart complications on Nov. 10, 2018. The defendant also said she named the baby Giovanna Gabriel Cisneros.
But a motive remains unclear.
"Those are only questions that she [Jenna] knows the answer to," Sprysak said.
John Thebes, Jenna's defense attorney said the state had a strong circumstantial case which is why they entered the no contest plea.
He also mentioned mental health issues played a big role in this case and more will be revealed during Jenna's sentencing.
"There's a lot of issues in terms of her background and mental state. In terms of her family and how they view her positively. There's issues with the marriage as well that need to be articulated to the court," Thebes said.
Jacob Cisneros is also facing 8 charges, including involuntary manslaughter. He is out of jail on electronic monitoring while he awaits his trial in September.
If Jacob's trial were to move forward, Spryszak said that Jenna would not be a witness for the state.
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