A woman was arrested for killing her baby son almost three decades ago.
HOW IT HAPPENED
According to police, she gave birth to the baby at home, in Liverpool, before driving 15 miles to Warrington and dumping his body, which was wrapped in two knotted bin bags, close to the Gulliver’s World theme park.
His body was discovered by a man walking with his young son and dog in a wooded area, adjacent to the theme park, at around 10.45am on March 14, 1998.
The child, who weighed 8lbs and was full term, had wads of tissues stuffed into his mouth and throat.
THE ARREST
Bodycam footage, filmed by police officers, shows Joanne Sharkey appear unsurprised when informed she is suspected of murdering the child, known as Callum, in July 2023.
The unnamed officer reads Sharkey, 55, who is dressed in a pair of pink pyjamas whilst sat on her sofa, her rights and says he understands that she will be ‘shocked’ and ‘distressed’ but insists ‘I’m not here to judge’.
Sharkey, who shows little emotion, interrupts, and pointing to a man, thought to be her husband in another room, simply adds: ‘Can I just say, he doesn’t know anything about this.’
Police also initially arrested her husband, Neil, also 55, in connection with the child’s death, but he was subsequently released without charge.
The couple, who have been married for 31 years and share an older son, born 20 months before Callum, are still thought to be together.
Sharkey pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her newborn, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and to concealing his birth at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.
She was due to stand trial for his murder, but, following reports from expert psychiatrists, the court heard prosecutors now accepted she was suffering from postnatal depression and her ‘mental state was impaired’ when Callum was born, in March 1998.
