Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Woman appears in court charged with murder of baby found in woodland in 1998

The coffin of abandoned baby Callum during his funeral service in 1998 (Richard Williams/Liverpool Daily Post/PA)
The coffin of abandoned baby Callum during his funeral service in 1998 (Richard Williams/Liverpool Daily Post/PA)

A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of a baby who was discovered in woodland 26 years ago.

Baby “Callum” was discovered close to the Gulliver’s World theme park in Warrington in March 1998.

Joanne Sharkey, 54, of West Derby, Liverpool, appeared at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with murder and concealment of the birth of a child.

Wearing a brown sweatshirt and with brown hair tied up in a short ponytail, she spoke only to confirm her name, date of birth and address, and appeared to be shaking as she stood in the dock.

The defendant, of Denham Close, was remanded in custody and will appear before Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

Chairman of the magistrates bench Fraser Geekie said: “These proceedings are too serious for this court to deal with.”

The hearing lasted three minutes.

Sharkey was arrested in July 2023 along with a man who has since been released without charge, Cheshire Police said.

Detectives named the infant Callum after the Callands district of Warrington where he was found dead, as his true identity could not be confirmed.

A funeral service was arranged by local people and he was buried in Warrington Cemetery a few months later.

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.”

Detective Inspector Hannah Friend, of Cheshire Police’s major crime review team, said: “I understand that this is an extremely emotional case which has attracted a lot of attention over the past 26 years, however I would ask people not to speculate.

“Criminal proceedings are now active against Joanne Sharkey and she has the right to a fair trial.”