Mum who killed baby in 1998 gets suspended sentence

A mother who killed her newborn baby boy in 1998 while in the grip of severe post-natal depression has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence after a judge decided the case "called for compassion".

Joanne Sharkey, from Liverpool, was identified as the baby's mother in July 2023 after cold case detectives found a DNA match for her older son, Matthew Sharkey, who had been arrested on suspicion of an unrelated offence.

The newborn, who was named as Baby Callum at the time, had been dumped in woodland in Warrington, Cheshire, wrapped inside two binbags on 11 March 1998.

Sharkey had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Liverpool Crown Court after medical experts concluded her mental health "substantially impaired" her ability to form a rational judgement when she killed Callum.

Sharkey, now 55, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and told she must undergo mental health treatment.

The court heard how she became pregnant in the summer of 1997, while she was suffering from undiagnosed post-natal depression following the birth of Matthew the previous year.

Judge Mrs Justice Eady, passing sentence on Friday, told her: "You had returned to full-time work after maternity leave and seemed to be coping, but that was a façade.

"You were in fact suffering from post-natal depression.

"This was not a case of the baby blues but a far more sustained period of depression which impacted on you physically and mentally."

In her police interviews, Sharkey had told detectives that when she realised she was pregnant she thought "I can't do this again" and tried to ignore it.

She did not tell her husband, Neil Sharkey, describing their relationship at the time as like "ships in the night" due to his shift patterns.

As the pregnancy progressed the then 28-year-old managed to hide it from Mr Sharkey and her wider family by wearing baggy clothes and isolating herself over winter, she said.

The court heard her memory of her labour was limited due to her depression and the trauma of the delivery, but she said she gave birth alone, possibly in the bathroom of the family home in Denham Close, Croxteth, in March 1998.

Medical evidence about how Callum died was inconclusive, but Justice Eady said it was likely he had been suffocated possibly when wads of tissue paper were inserted into his mouth and throat.

After Callum was killed, Sharkey drove around 35 minutes away from her home to the Callands area of Warrington, near Gulliver's World theme park, where she dumped his body.

His body was found on 14 March by a dog-walker, and Cheshire Constabulary launched a large-scale murder investigation.

Forensic investigators obtained a full DNA profile of the baby's mother from blood found on the bin-bags, but as Sharkey had never been in trouble before checks on police databases drew a blank.

A fresh check of the national database was ordered by the Major Crimes Review Team in 2023, which found a match for Matthew Sharkey due to his arrest - and from there detectives were able to identify Joanne as Callum's mother.

She was arrested in July that year, immediately telling the arresting officer that her husband "doesn't know anything about this".

In hours of interviews, Sharkey told detectives what she could remember and was initially charged with murder.

However in March 2025, on the eve of her trial, the prosecution accepted a plea of manslaughter based on medical reports.

Justice Eady said: "It is agreed by the experts that your mental ill-health substantially impaired your ability to form a rational judgment and exercise self-control.

"There is no evidence of pre-meditation and nothing else can explain your actions other than this abnormality in mental functioning."

She said she was satisfied that Sharkey had shown "genuine remorse".

"You have not found it easy to articulate, such is your personality, but the evidence is clear, not a day has as passed when you have not dwelt on these matters appreciating the horrendous nature of your crime," the judge said.