Katie Stockton Admits to Killing Infant Daughter

Rockford- A sniffling Katie Stockton pleads guilty to her daughter's death.

"I plead guilty," Stockton confesses to Judge Truitt nearly a decade after baby Crystal was found dead on a cold December day in 2004.

Winnebago County States Attorney Joe Bruscato describes the crime, "inside the orange shopping bag was an olive/cream colored flannel jacket. And wrapped in the flannel jacket was the body of a deceased infant with no clothing."

Medical examiners say baby Crystal died from either hypothermia or suffocation from the bags.

What was the smoking gun that linked Stockton to the crime? More like smoking a cigarette.

During July of 2009 detectives processed a cigarette for DNA that Stockton threw into a parking lot. The blood on the clothing items found with baby Crystal matched DNA from the cigarette. Forensic testing also confirmed Stockton was the mother.

Left unresolved, the case of two other newborns found dead in the trunk of Stockton's car in 2009. Bruscato says "it's under investigation."

Stockton was led away in handcuffs and now awaits her sentencing trial. She will be sentenced April 5th. She faces 20 to 60 years in prison.