In the quiet village of Albany, Wisconsin, a secret birth on January 5, 2021, ended in a heartbreaking tragedy. A newborn baby girl named Harper was born in a bathtub to her teenage parents. Just hours into her life, her father, 16-year-old Logan Kruckenberg-Anderson, made a series of decisions that would lead to her death. Initially, the young couple considered giving the infant to an adoption agency, but this plan was soon abandoned.
Instead, Kruckenberg-Anderson told the baby's mother
he would find someone to take Harper. He placed the newborn into a backpack and left the home. His initial story to investigators was that he had given the baby and sixty dollars to a man named Tyler, whom he had met on Snapchat, to take her to an adoption agency. However, this account quickly unraveled under questioning, and the grim truth of Harper's fate began to emerge.
As the investigation progressed, Kruckenberg-Anderson's story changed. He admitted to taking the baby into a remote wooded area. He confessed to placing the naked infant in a snow-covered fallen tree. He told investigators that as he walked away, he could hear her crying, which caused him to break down. Eventually, he led law enforcement to Harper's body. An autopsy revealed that the newborn had not died from exposure to the cold but had been shot twice in the head. A firearm, which Kruckenberg-Anderson had given to another teenager a few days after Harper's death, was recovered and matched the casings found near her body.
Logan Kruckenberg-Anderson was arrested and charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse. The baby's mother was not charged in connection with the death. After a trial, a jury found Kruckenberg-Anderson guilty on both counts. The tragic end to Harper's short life was the result of a deliberate act by her teenage father, who now faces a lengthy prison sentence for the murder of his newborn daughter.
