Joanne Sharkey, a 55-year-old woman from Liverpool, admitted in 2023 to killing her newborn baby boy back in 1998. Sharkey had kept her pregnancy secret and then allegedly killed baby boy Callum via asphyxiation. For 25 years, Sharkey kept the incident secret until 2023, when police came knocking on her door.
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According to BBC News, the newborn child was found dead at Warrington in March 1998 inside bin bags near Gulliver's World theme park. People at the time named him Callum after Callands, the area where he was found. A forensic investigation found tissue paper stuck in the newborn's mouth and throat. The evidence concluded that his death was caused by asphyxiation moments after being born.
At the time, while many women were arrested and hundreds interviewed, the case went cold as they could not find the person behind the gruesome murder.
Cold Case Solved
It all changed in 2023 when cold case detectives managed to match Callum's DNA with Sharkey's older son, Matthew. Police arrived at the Sharkey residence and arrested both Joanne and her husband, Neil Sharkey. Police recorded a conversation between the married couple at the bag sit of the patrol car where Joanne admitted to the killing.
"I'm not [expletive] gonna deny nothing, it is what it is, isn't it?" Joanne told Neil. "I [expletive] did it."
Reportedly, Joanne Sharkey hid her second pregnancy from Neil. She allegedly took advantage of her husband's busy work schedule to hide her belly. She even wore baggy clothes to conceal the fact that she was pregnant.
As per BBC News, while Joanne Sharkey was originally charged with murder, prosecutors dropped the charge after reviewing psychiatric reports. They accepted a plea to manslaughter due to the alleged severe postnatal depression Sharkey suffered at the time.
Jonas Hankin KC, prosecutor, said during the trial that a consensus between the prosecution, the defense, and medical expertise, concluded that Sharkey couldn't act rationally at the time of the killing given the symptoms she was experiencing.
"It is apparent that Mrs Sharkey soon found the combination of a full-time job, five days a week, Monday to Friday, and motherhood challenging," Hankin said. Hanking commented on the fact that Sharkey communicated to a friend, Amanda Harper, that she didn't want any more children. She, however, became pregnant in 1997.
Defense
During police interviews, Joanne Sharkey said that she tried to ignore her pregnancy in an attempt to "disassociate." While she doesn't remember much of the 1998 incident, she believes she gave birth to baby Callum in her bathroom. She would then state that she believed she covered the boy's mouth to prevent him from crying.
In court, both Joanne's husband and her first son, Matthew, testified in her defense. Neil Sharkey said in a statement that, back then, he was not the best husband or father and he "blamed himself" for not seeking help at the time.
"When I was younger it was all left to Joanne, she was an amazing mother to Matthew," Neil said. "She has single-handedly raised him to be one of the nicest people I have known."
Matthew Sharkey also shared a statement, saying that he had an "amazing childhood" thanks to Joanne. Matthew said that she was always there for him. He is now a 28-year-old man.
"I hope she can receive the help she needs to address the issues she has I will be there every single step of the way and support her with anything she needs," Matthew said.
Nina Grahame KC, Joanne's defense attorney, requested to suspend any prison sentence as she wasn't acting rationally when she allegedly killed Callum.
"She took none of the steps that an intelligent woman would be expected to do, she took no steps to protect herself from the tragic horror of what happened thereafter," Grahame said. "She gave birth alone, panicked, terrified, and in pain. How much more punishment does Joanne Sharkey require?"
As per BBC News, Joanne Sharkey will be sentenced at a later date.
