A mother who killed her newborn baby boy more than 25 years ago and dumped his body in a bin bag near a children's theme park has been spared jail. Joanne Sharkey, now 56, from Croxteth, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and concealing the birth of a child.
The baby, known as Baby Callum, was found by a dog walker in woodland near Gulliver's World in Warrington on March 14, 1998. He was just hours old and weighed 7lb 8oz. A post-mortem initially suggested asphyxiation, but a modern review has listed the cause of death as unascertained.
Sharkey was arrested in July 2023 after a relative's DNA led police to her. The court heard she had suffered a moderate to severe depressive illness at the time, impairing her judgment. High Court judge Mrs Justice Eady noted Sharkey had memory blanks but was haunted by her actions, and handed her a two-year suspended sentence.
The judge said: 'This very sad case calls for compassion.' Sharkey had given birth in her family home before driving to Warrington to abandon the body. Her husband, unaware of the pregnancy, faced no further action. Baby Callum was buried in Warrington Cemetery following a public funeral attended by 150 people.
