DNA bombshell proved mum killed her baby - 25 years after he was dumped in woods

A mother who more than 25 years ago has avoided jail. Joanne Sharkey was today given a two-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

The infant was believed to be just a few hours old when his mother, killed him and left his tiny body in a wooded area close to Gulliver's World theme park. The 7lb 8oz newborn, was discovered lifeless and wrapped in a black plastic bag by a dog walker on March 14, 1998.

Handing down sentencing today at Liverpool Crown Court, High Court judge Mrs Justice Eady said: "This very sad case, [which] calls for compassion." And describing how Sharkey had been left "haunted" by what she'd done, the judge told the court: "[There is] nothing I can do can turn the clock back, or restore the life of your child. You have lived with the knowledge of what you did for 25 years, you told police you had thought about this a million times, but couldn't say the words."

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Baby Callum's cause of death was initially reported as asphyxiation following an inquest in 1998, with a post-mortem investigation finding injuries to his head and neck as well as wads of tissue within his mouth and neck. However, following a modern day review of the case, his cause of death is now being treated as "unascertained".

Justice Eady told Sharkey: "Although we know you must have put tissue into the baby's mouth, you have no recollection of this. You had no memory of where you went, or returning home and hearing about the finding of the baby on the news. You caused injuries to your baby, after he had been born alive. There is no reason as to why you would lie about any of this."

The a nod to the Callands area of Warrington where officers carried out painstaking house-to-house inquiries in the Callands area of Warrington in the desperate hope of tracking down his parents. Hundreds of interviews were conducted, while officers scoured local , midwife services, GP practices, and schools to determine whether there had been any recent births in the area. And the DNA of almost 500 women, including a number of schoolgirls, was tested.

Decades later, police finally had a breakthrough in January 2022, after conducting a full review of the original investigation and lines of enquiry, including a review with forensic experts regarding any new DNA opportunities. In the years since the 1990s investigation, a family member had been added to the DNA database, with the all-important familial link leading officers to Callum's mother, Joanne Sharkey, and his father. Both were arrested in July 2023, and subsequently released on bail. Sharkey was then rearrested in April on suspicion of murder, while the man was released without charge, Cheshire Police said.

Footage shows Sharkey's arrest at her Liverpool home, where she could be seen sitting on a sofa with her hands clasped as officers questioned her. An officer told Sharkey: "So, therefore, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murder of that child and also the concealment of that child. Do you understand what I have just said? I know what I have just said may come as a huge shock to you and obviously cause you distress but we are professional officers. We are going to treat you with the utmost respect."

Sharkey can then be then seen pointing to another room before, telling officers: "He doesn't know anything", in reference to her husband Neil. Police then told Sharkey not to discuss the case until her interview in custody. Neil was also arrested, but it became clear he did not know she had been pregnant with a baby boy or that she killed him. It was later decided that no further action would be taken against Neil.

Earlier this month, Sharkey had been scheduled to face a trial at Liverpool Crown Court beginning March 6. However, she instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, as well as concealing the birth of a child.

Jonas Hankin KC, prosecuting, said: "The prosecution is in receipt of psychological and psychiatric expert opinion. The psychiatric evidence reaches a consensus view that all the elements of diminished responsibility are supported. In plain terms, this killing is impossible to understand, absent of a moderate to severe mental illness which substantially impaired Joanne Sharkey's ability to form rational judgement and exercise self-control."

Following the guilty plea, neighbours told of their shock, with one calling Sharkey a "nice person". The woman, known only as Ann, told News: "I knew her and her husband well, I remember them moving in after they got married. We socialised and we'd sit in the garden and have a drink together. She was a nice person. She would be out and we would talk for half an hour or more, she was always lovely. We're all just shocked."

Sharkey, of Denham Close in Croxteth, Liverpool, has lived there with her husband since 1991, when the homes were first built, the publication reports. She is said to be a friendly face on the close-knit street.

Following the guilty plea, Detective Inspector Hannah Friend, of Cheshire Police 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."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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