A mother has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her newborn son, whose body was discovered in woodland near Warrington in 1998.

Joanne Sharkey, 55, admitted to causing the death of the baby, who was named ‘Callum’ by the local community. The infant remained unidentified for 27 years until advancements in forensic genealogy led police to his mother.

Sharkey was arrested last year following a breakthrough in DNA analysis, which enabled detectives to link her to the case after decades without leads.

Court Proceedings

During a court hearing, prosecutors revealed that Sharkey had been suffering from severe mental health difficulties at the time of the incident. Due to this, the Crown Prosecution Service accepted her guilty plea to manslaughter rather than murder.

She is set to be sentenced on 21 March 2025.

Forensic Breakthrough

The case, which remained unsolved for nearly three decades, was reopened after forensic experts applied new genetic tracing techniques to the recovered DNA evidence. This led investigators to Sharkey, who was arrested and later charged.

Authorities have described the case as a significant step forward in the use of forensic genealogy to solve historic crimes.

Further updates will follow as the sentencing date approaches.