How police caught woman who killed her baby 27 years after horror discovery

Joanne Sharkey admitted killing the baby

Cheshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have issued statements after a woman admitted killing ‘Baby Callum’ who was found dead in woodland in Warrington nearly 27 years ago.

Joanne Louise Sharkey, 54, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child, named ‘Baby Callum’, after the Callands district of Warrington in which his body was discovered, in 1998. She will be sentenced on March 21.

On March 14 1998, the body of a newborn baby boy was found by a local man out walking his dog with his young son in a wooded area off Camp Road, near to Gulliver’s World. The baby’s body had been discarded inside two binbags.

The baby was estimated to have been born at full term within a few days of his discovery but his identity, and that of his parents, was unknown.

Moment woman is arrested for killing baby boy found dead near Gulliver’s World in 1998

Despite the efforts of police, a large media campaign, and anniversary media appeals in the following years, nothing led to the identification of the baby’s parents.

The case remained on the list of ‘cold’ cases for Cheshire Constabulary and was subject to regular reviews, including refreshed searches of the national Police DNA Database and further DNA analysis due to advances in science.

How police caught Joanne Sharkey

The current investigation by Cheshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Review Team began in January 2022, and through further DNA analysis, the mother of the baby, Joanne Sharkey was identified.

She was arrested and charged with murder and concealing the birth of Baby Callum. She has today entered a guilty plea to the alternative offence of manslaughter by reasons of diminished responsibility at Liverpool Crown Court.

Following the guilty plea, Detective Inspector Hannah Friend, said: “The case of Baby Callum shocked the local community 27 years ago, with residents coming together to give him a proper funeral and try to help identify the person responsible for his death.

“Despite his life being cruelly cut short, he has not been forgotten, and his memory has lived on in the local area for the past few decades. Likewise, our efforts to locate who did this to him have not wavered and the case was subject to regular reviews and refreshed searches of the Police DNA Database.

“It was thanks to this that a familial DNA sample was identified, and following a thorough investigation and multiple enquiries, Sharkey was identified, arrested and later charged in relation to Baby Callum’s death.

“While this guilty plea today will bring some closure to what has been a lengthy and complex investigation, ongoing for almost 30 years, the result will not bring back Baby Callum who should have had his whole life ahead of him.

“I would like to thank the team of officers and staff across the entirety of this investigation whose dedication has meant someone has now been held accountable for an innocent baby’s death. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this case.”

Adam Till, a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This has been a complex case about a baby whose life was unfairly cut short. He would have been an adult today and it’s devastating to think of the life he could have had. The circumstances of his death have deeply affected everyone who has been involved in this case as well as the wider community.

“We carefully considered and accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter following a thorough review of the psychiatric reports and medical evidence. The evidence concluded that Sharkey’s mental state was significantly impaired at the time of the offence due to a medical condition which diminished her criminal responsibility.

“While the outcome of this case will never bring the baby back, we hope it brings a small measure of comfort to everyone who has been affected by this awful case.”

Sharkey, of Denham Close, Croxteth, Liverpool, will be sentenced on March 21.