Mother pleads not guilty in newborn baby’s death

Associated Press

CHARDON

A woman who authorities say put her newborn baby boy in a garbage bag and left him in a wooded area in 1993 has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder.

Forty-nine-year-old Gail Eastwood-Ritchey entered her plea Monday in Geauga County to aggravated murder and murder charges. Her bond was set at $250,000.

Investigators say Eastwood-Ritchey stated she hid the pregnancy from everyone. They say the woman, of the Cleveland suburb of Euclid, married the baby’s father and has three grown children.

Authorities say familial DNA ancestry from an online database was used to track down Eastwood-Ritchey.