SENTENCE has been adjourned on the mother of “Baby Callum” a baby boy whose body was discarded in binbags in Warrington nearly 30 years ago so the Judge can reflect on the appropriate action.
After hearing impact statements from the husband and son of Joanne Sharkey, Judge Justice Eady said: “This is a case where I need to reflect and think very carefully about what is the appropriate course. While I appreciate the stress of putting off sentence to another date, that is where we are.”
Addressing the defendant and her family she added: “I appreciate the stress to you and your family. I am sorry about that, but it is important to consider things than trying to rush them.
“You will continue on bail as before, and when we have a date and time fixed, you must be here.”
The case will now be concluded on either Thursday, April 3, or Friday, April 4, starting at 10.30 am, depending on availability.
Sharkey, of Denham Close, Liverpool, who had been suffering from post-natal depression at the time of the birth, pleaded guilty to causing the death of ‘Baby Callum’, named after the Callands district of Warrington in which his body was discovered, in 1998.
The 55-year-old pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child.
The baby was found to have wads of tissue in his mouth and throat. Sharkey then placed the baby’s body within binbags and drove to the site in Warrington where she left him.
At an earlier hearing, the court heard that at around 10.45am on 14 March 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 knotted binbags and was discovered after the dog walker became curious as to what was in the bags and poked a hole in them with a stick.
A full DNA sample was taken from the baby, as well as from blood found on the binbags. This identified the DNA profile of the mother of the baby, however there was no match on the Police DNA Database for her. A partial DNA profile for the father was obtained, but again, there was no match on the DNA Database.
As part of the investigation, DNA swabs were taken from a large number of people living locally at the time, but none provided a match. Officers also carried out extensive house-to-house enquiries with hundreds of people being interviewed, enquiries with local hospitals, midwife services, GPs and other medical services, as well as schools, to identify any women or girls who may have given birth recently.
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 had 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 as advances in science were made.
The current investigation began in January 2022 as part of one of these reviews by Cheshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Review Team.
Through further DNA analysis, the mother of the baby, Joanne Sharkey, and the father were identified. This occurred via the identification of a familial link between the baby and somebody who was related to him, who had been added to the Police DNA Database in the years since searches were last completed. Familial DNA identifies samples which have familial similarities to the target sample, which can come from distant or close relations.
Sharkey and the baby’s father were arrested on 28 July 2023 on suspicion of murder. DNA samples were obtained which confirmed that they were the mother and father of the baby. Both were later released on bail while enquiries continued.
Following a thorough investigation, a decision was made to take no further action against the father, the case being that he was unaware of the pregnancy, the birth, or the subsequent death.
Sharkey was charged on 15 April 2024 with murder and endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child.
It was determined that Sharkey had concealed her pregnancy, given birth at her home address and caused the death of the baby in the following hours.
