Ohio Woman Convicted of Murder in 1993 Death of Newborn
A Geauga County jury has convicted 51-year-old Gail Eastwood-Ritchey guilty of murder, but not guilty of aggravated murder in the 1993 death of her child.
The baby, who received the moniker “Geauga’s Child” dates back to March 25, 1993, when a newspaper carrier found the newborn’s body along a rural road in Thompson Township. Authorities at the time said the child was in a garbage bag and had been mutilated by animals.
The case remained cold until June of 2019 when Eastwood-Ritchey was identified through DNA testing. Detectives created a family tree that included 1,400 members before they narrowed themselves down to Eastwood-Ritchey. She was quickly arrested.
According to the autopsy performed by the Cuyahoga County’s coroner, the baby was born alive in a home in Shaker Heights where she worked as a nanny. Her defense lawyer claimed the child was stillborn, meaning she had not killed the baby.
She was found guilty Monday of murder, but not aggravated murder. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.
Eastwood-Ritchey would eventually marry the newborn’s father. They went on to have three adult children together. She admitted soon after her arrest that she had not only disposed of “Geauga’s Child”, but had disposed of another infant’s body before him.
