CHARDON, Ohio — She’s been out on bond since her June arrest, but Gail Eastwood-Ritchey is due was in court Tuesday afternoon for a pretrial hearing in the “Geauga’s Child” cold case, which involves the death of a newborn boy dating back more than two decades.
The 49-year-old Euclid woman was arrested more than 26 years after the baby boy’s body was found along Sidley Road back on March 25, 1993.
At a previous court hearing, the judge reviewed the charges and maximum possible penalties Ritchey could receive upon conviction:
- Aggravated murder: Life sentence with possibility of parole after 20 years and a maximum fine of $25,000.
- Murder: Life sentence with possibility of parole after 15 years and a maximum fine of $15,000.
Officials say she was the mother of the baby boy, and allegedly admitted to placing the child in a trash bag and leaving him in a wooded area shortly after giving birth. Authorities say she also admitted to a similar crime involving another child she claims to have disposed of in Cuyahoga County.
Ritchey was identified through familial DNA, which apparently came from another relative. Investigators were able to match that DNA to Geauga's Child.
To this day, the baby's gravestone is simply marked as “Geauga’s Child."
The jury trial is currently slated to begin Oct. 15.