Mum admitted killing child after son’s arrest sparked DNA hyperlink – ‘It haunts me on daily basis’

Joanne Sharkey admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility in connection with the death of baby ‘Callum’ who was discovered in a bin bag in woodland 27 years ago

A mum is facing jail for killing and dumping her own baby who was discovered in a bin bag in woodland 27 years ago. Joanne Sharkey, 55, was due to face trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of murdering the infant, later named Callum, between March 8 and March 12 1998, but entered a guilty plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility which was accepted by the prosecution.

The baby’s body was found close to Gulliver’s World theme park in Warrington, Cheshire, on March 14 1998, by a dog walker, in a wooded area off Camp Road. Cheshire Constabulary said Callum, who was born full-term, 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.

At the time, the identity of the boy’s parents was unknown, but they were identified 25 years on after Starkey’s other son was arrested and had a DNA sample taken. Sharkey told officers she knew the day would come adding: “You don’t get away with anything forever.”

Sharkey, of Denham Close in West Derby, Liverpool, also pleaded guilty to attempting to conceal the birth of a child. Today, Liverpool Crown Court heard that when she killed the baby, Sharkey was suffering from post-natal depression after the birth of her first son in 1996.

Prosecution barrister Jonas Hankin KC said psychiatrists agreed Sharkey was “fearful of becoming a mother to another child” and developed a depressive illness which “substantially impaired (her) ability to form rational judgment and exercise self-control”.

She told police she kept her pregnancy a secret and, when the baby was born in the bathroom of her house in Croxteth, Liverpool, she heard him starting to make a noise and covered his nose and mouth “to make him quiet.”

The court heard Sharkey was a married 28-year-old housing benefit officer at West Lancashire Council when Callum was born.

Mr Hankin told the court: “It’s apparent Mrs Sharkey soon found the combination of a full-time job and motherhood challenging, and she has since been diagnosed as suffering from post-natal depression during that period.

“She told a work colleague and friend Amanda Harper she didn’t want any more children after Matthew. Nevertheless she became pregnant in the summer of 1997. She did not tell her husband.”

The court heard that on March 12 1998, a man saw a young woman walking quickly out of the woods who looked “upset”.

The man walked into the woods near Gulliver’s World and saw a black bin bag lying on the ground to the left of the track but did not touch it, Mr Hankin said.

Two days later a dog walker saw the same bag, was curious about what was inside and punctured it with a stick to find the body of an infant inside, the judge was told.

The court heard the baby, who was given the name Callum after the Callands district of Warrington in which his body had been discovered, was taken to Warrington General Hospital, where a pathologist found him to be a “normally developed, full-term infant” with no structural abnormality or natural disease.

He found a number of bruises over the infant’s face, head and neck, and wads of tissue in his mouth.

Mr Hankin said DNA profiles from the tissue paper and blood staining on the bin bag were taken and stored on a national database.

The prosecutor said police made checks with hospitals, general practice surgeries, midwives and other medical facilities, conducted house-to-house visits and made enquiries at shops, pubs and three local schools.

He told the court: “Some young women were named by their own families as potential candidates for the mother of the baby. They were arrested but eliminated after a DNA comparison.”

He added: “It was not until 2023, during a periodic review of the national database that the DNA profile of Matthew Sharkey, Joanne Sharkey’s first child, whose DNA had by that time been uploaded to the national DNA database because he had been arrested for an unrelated offence – his profile was found to be a close match to that of the infant.”

The court heard DNA samples were taken from Joanne and Neil Sharkey, who were identified as the biological parents, and Sharkey was arrested for murder in July 2023, telling officers her husband “knows nothing about it”.

Mr Hankin said: “While Mr and Mrs Sharkey were in the back of a police car prior to being interviewed, a covert recording was made of a conversation between them during which Mrs Sharkey was heard to say ‘I’m not gonna f****** deny nothing, it is what it is isn’t it. I f****** did it’.”

In her interviews with police, Sharkey described her state of mind at the prospect of a second child as a case of “I can’t do this again”, the court heard.

She said she kept her pregnancy a secret by wearing bigger clothes and keeping everyone “at arm’s length”.

Sharkey told officers the labour, which she thought had happened in the bathroom, was “easy and quick” and that she was the only person in the house at the time.

Mr Hankin told the court: “She said this. ‘The infant was born. I just had to make him quiet. When asked what she could hear, she responded, ‘he’s making a noise, just a little snuffly, starting-to-cry noise. Not massively loud, just a whimpering sort of cry’.

“Asked what she did then, she replied: ‘I sort of reached down. I must have been on the floor at this point. I’ve covered his nose, his mouth. It just couldn’t make that noise, just to be quiet’.

“Asked why she wanted him to be quiet, she responded that she didn’t know, saying ‘I knew I just had to. It had to be quiet. Then he was quiet’.

“She said she doesn’t know how long it took to make him quiet. Asked why she felt she wanted the infant to be quiet, she said she was concerned someone outside would hear him.”

Sharkey replied “no comment” when asked about the wads of tissue and bruising to the baby’s head and neck.

Sharkey told officers she realised she “just had to get him out of the house” so she “put the bag in the car and drove to nowhere in particular”, adding: “I had to find somewhere to not be with me any more’.”

Mr Hankin said Sharkey had never spoken about what happened, telling officers: “I couldn’t actually say the words. It’s not easy to live with all that time. I thought this would happen. You don’t get away with anything forever.

“It’s haunting, something you think about every day. You try and push it out but it creeps back in. You carry on with your life, you go to work and you do Christmas and you do Easter but this is always in your head.”

The court heard two doctors gave the baby’s medical cause of death as “unascertained” and could not determine whether he had been alive when the tissue was put in his mouth.

A funeral service was arranged by local people and he was buried in Warrington Cemetery a few months after the baby was discovered.

The headstone, which was paid for with money raised by local residents, was inscribed: “Baby Callum, precious child of God. Laid to rest July 27, 1998. With love, from the people of Warrington.”

Adam Till, from the CPS, said: “This has been a complex case about a baby whose life was unfairly cut short.

“He would have been an adult today and it’s devastating to think of the life he could have had.

“The circumstances of his death have deeply affected everyone who has been involved in this case as well as the wider community.”

He added: “The evidence concluded that Sharkey’s mental state was significantly impaired at the time of the offence due to a medical condition which diminished her criminal responsibility.

“While the outcome of this case will never bring the baby back, we hope it brings a small measure of comfort to everyone who has been affected by this awful case.”

Nina Grahame KC, defending Sharkey, said: “Her primary intent throughout was concealment. That had been her intent since she became aware she was pregnant. The primary intent was concealment on the day itself.

“The situation was unplanned, the giving birth was chaotic.”

She added: “Were it not for her mental illness it is inconceivable a woman such as Mrs Sharkey would have failed to care for her newborn child.”

A statement from Neil Sharkey said he was “not the greatest husband and father” when he was younger and Sharkey had “single-handedly raised Matthew to be one of the nicest people I’ve known”.

The statement read: “I blame myself for what happened as I was not the easiest person to live with… I’m supporting Joanne and always will.”

A statement from Matthew Sharkey said: “We as a family are supporting my mum and standing by her. I will always support my mum and stand by her as she is my mum and I am aware she was mentally ill at the time.”

Mrs Justice Eady will sentence Sharkey on a date to be fixed.

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