"Newborn John" EALEY - at birth (2010)/ Convicted: Mother; Sheila Ealey - Flora MS

Madison County authorities are investigating the Friday discovery of the
body of a deceased infant in a suitcase behind a church near Flora.
Coroner Alex Breeland said the boy's body was behind Smith Chapel
Baptist Church on Livingston-Vernon Road.The cause of death has not been determined. An
autopsy will be performed today.Breeland said people working in a yard found the
suitcase at 2:30 p.m. and reported it to the Sheriff's Department.
Breeland said he didn't know how long the child had been deceased.No one with the church,
which sits two miles from U.S. 49, could be reached.

Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland says
the investigation is still ongoing after a deceased newborn was found in
a suitcase near Smith Chapel Baptist Church. The church is located on
Livingston Vernon Road in Flora.

The suitcase was found Friday afternoon. Breeland says he was told
yard workers found the suitcase.

The autopsy was completed Saturday morning. The cause of death is
pending toxicology results which Breeland says can take days or weeks.

Breeland says the umbilical cord was still attached to the infant. He
says the baby’s race is undetermined at this time.

An autopsy was completed Friday on the infant
found stuffed in a suitcase behind a church in Flora. The gruesome
discovery was made around 2:30 p.m. Friday behind Smith Chapel Baptist
Church on Livingston Vernon Road. Madison County authorities were still
investigating this disturbing case while people living in the area
mourn the baby's death.

Shock and disbelief from residents in a small
Flora community just one day after a newborn baby is found dead. "I'm
surprised it happened in a community like this because everybody knows
everybody," said Kenyeta Miles visiting family in a neighborhood near
the Smith Chapel Baptist Church.

An autopsy was performed Friday, but Madison
County Coroner Alex Breeland said the findings are inconclusive and the
cause of death is pending. According to Breeland, the little body was
badly decomposed and authorities can not yet tell the child's race.

"I feel sorry for the little baby, not only
for the mother, but as for the little baby because that's a life that
she just really didn't have to take," said Miles.

At the New Beginning House of Prayer near
Smith Chapel Baptist prayers were being lifted for the baby and the
mother. Church leaders said they don't know who is involved.

"What happens, you know, God knows about it.
So we're going to pray for the family, not only me, but the whole
church is going to pray for the family," said New Beginning Pastor LB
Gordon.

"It's a sad situation when a young woman
feels that she has no recourse. She doesn't have anybody she can turn to
take a drastic step like that," said co-Pastor Peggy Gordon.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department has
not made any comments about the investigation.

News that a deceased baby boy was found behind the Rev. Charles Simmons'
church disheartened the pastor of the cozy Madison County congregation.
The infant was found wrapped in a garbage bag and blanket inside a
suitcase."It's a
sad commentary," the Smith Chapel Baptist Church pastor said. "You never
know why."Coroner
Alex Breeland said the results of an autopsy conducted Saturday are not
yet available. The autopsy will reveal the manner and time of death,
and other information that could lead to the infant's identity. Breeland
was unable to say when results would be complete.Madison County Sheriff's Department officials said
they were not allowed to comment on whether any arrests had been made in
connection with the incident.The infant was found Friday by one of the church's
members, who was clearing weeds around the property's perimeter, Simmons
said."The
suitcase was by some trees, where the grass has grown up," said Simmons,
pastor of the 150-member-church for 36 years. "They should have known
one day someone was going to find it because the grass has got to be
cut."Simmons said
the grass is mowed about every two weeks. Breeland said he is unsure
how long the baby had been at the site.The church is located several miles north of Flora
along rural Livingston-Vernon Road east of U.S. 49 in the Kearney Park
community.Madison
County Supervisor Karl Banks said the church's proximity to U.S. 49
means the baby could have come from anywhere."It's a quiet community," he said. "The baby could
have been dropped off by anyone."Because of where the suitcase was discarded, Simmons
said he does not think the baby was intended to be found alive."I have never seen this
before or dreamed this would happen," the pastor said. "I hurt for the
person who did something like that. They could have given the baby
away."Mississippi
law allows parents to bring newborns to a hospital, emergency room,
emergency service provider or licensed adoption clinic and legally turn
them over to the state.Adopted
in 2000, the state's "Safe Haven," or "Baby Moses," law aims to avoid a
tragic situation like this one, said state Rep. Steve Holland,
D-Plantersville."We
want to protect our children," said Holland, who chairs the House's
public health and human services committee. "If they come to the state,
we'll intervene and do the right thing."A child has to be no more than 3 days old. The
hospital or adoption clinic contacts the Department of Human Services,
which assumes custody of the child."People go through emotional times and mental
gyrations in certain situations, but we want our children to live,
develop properly into good adults," Holland said. "A lot of people panic
and do strange things."Safe
Haven laws differ by states. All 50 states have one.Missouri has provisions that allow children under a
year old to be given to the state. In Louisiana, a baby can be dropped
off at police and fire stations.

A baby boy that was found dead in a suitcase last
week was born alive, Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge said on
Tuesday.The newborn was found Friday afternoon in a garbage bag,
wrapped in a blanket, inside the suitcase, behind the Smith Chapel
Baptist Church in the 300 block of Livingston Vernon Road in Flora, the
sheriff said.Sheila Ealey is charged with murder in connection
with the boy’s death, Trowbridge said. She surrendered to authorities
Friday night, he said.“After reviewing the information gathered
so far, we decided that since she had the baby at home and had not had
any medical attention, that it was best that she be checked out and
examined by a doctor. She is at the Madison County Medical Center now.
She will be examined and then DNA testing will be used to determine that
the child was hers,” Trowbridge said.Coroner Alex Breeland said
the baby was a newborn boy, but he said he's not sure how the baby died.
An autopsy was performed on Saturday, but the results have not been
released.“Right now, we believe the child was born alive and are
proceeding that way. Unless the autopsy shows different or there is
proof otherwise, we are proceeding with the investigation that the child
was born alive and that is why (Ealey) is charged with murder,”
Trowbridge said.Clara Cowan, a friend of Ealey, said that the
41-year-old was under a lot of pressure raising five children by
herself. A church member said the children have been turned over to
family members. Ealey could appear in court as early as Wednesday,
Trowbridge said.Mississippi has a Safe Haven
law, which was created nine years ago to save the lives of unwanted
babies, said Lori Woodruff of the Family and Children Division of the
Department of Human Services. Under the law, parents can leave a baby
with a health care provider at a hospital for up to three days after it
was born and just walk away -- no questions asked, Woodruff said.“It’s
to avoid people feeling like (there is) one more child they just can’t
take care of, so babies aren't abandoned in unsafe places,” Woodruff
said. “We would rather that happen than end up with an abandoned child
or an abused child. There are families out there that desperately want
to raise children.”

DNA confirms mother of baby found dead inside a suitcase

Jul 08, 2010 7:34 AM


CANTON, MS The Flora woman charged with murdering her newborn posted $35,000 bond Thursday morning after facing a Madison County Justice Court judge.

Shelia Ealey, 41, is accused of wrapping her baby boy in bags and blankets, then leaving him, still alive, in a suitcase behind a Flora church last week.

DNA confirms Ealey is the mother of that child.

Ealey's friends and family are standing behind her.

They looked on during Ealey's first court appearance Thursday, but declined to comment.

"These are good people from this area, it's a very sad incident," said John Colette, Ealey's attorney.

Ealey's pastor comforted the mother of five while she stood, shackled, before a judge.

Ealey was a member of Smith Chapel Missionary Baptist in Flora. It's the same church where the newborn was found.

"We have been advised we have nothing further to say," said Rev. Charles Simmons, when asked for further information.

As a condition of Ealey's bond, she must undergo a mental evaluation."She has no prior convictions, never been in trouble in her life, lifelong resident, tremendous family support," said Colette.

DNA tests will determine if Ealey is indeed the newborn's mother, and officials are awaiting more details on the autopsy results.

"Everything is allegations at this point," said Colette.

Madison County prosecutor Allen Phillips declined to speak on camera, but said Ealey was released from the hospital Wednesday after complications related to childbirth.

Meanwhile, Ealey's pastor said he and other friends and family members are praying for her.

When the investigation is complete, the case will be handed over to a Madison County grand jury.

Madison County officials said Ealey is not married. They would not release any information on the father, but said charges would likely not be filed against him.

Baby Found in Suitcase, Mom’s Bond Set in Mississippi


Shelia Ealey
CANTON, Miss. (AP) - Bond has been set at $35,000 for a Flora woman charged in the death of her newborn son.

Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest has said authorities believe the newborn boy found last week in a suitcase left in weeds behind a Flora-area church was alive when someone disposed of him.

The Clarion-Ledger reports bond was set Thursday for 41-year-old Shelia Ealey by a justice court judge. A grand jury will hear the case. Ealey has been charged with murder.

The infant was found Friday by a church member clearing weeds around the property. Authorities say the boy was wrapped in a garbage bag and blanket inside the suitcase.

MS mom faces capital murder in newborn's death

Thursday, November 11, 2010 11:35 AM EST

CANTON, MS Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest says a mother of five charged with the death of her newborn will face a bond hearing Monday.

Guest tells The Clarion-Ledger that 41-year-old Shelia Ealey of Flora was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of capital murder.

Ealey is accused of shutting her newborn inside a suitcase while he was still alive and leaving it near a Flora church in July.

Ealey has been free on a $35,000 bond since her arrest. It was not immediately known whether Ealey has an attorney.

Jury finds Sheila Ealey guilty of capital murder

Posted: Aug 19, 2013 3:12 PM CST
Updated: Aug 30, 2013 5:14 PM CST
By David Kenney

CANTON, MS (Mississippi News Now) - Madison County jury has found Sheila Ealey guilty of capital murder in the death of her son.

Ealey suffocated her newborn baby by putting him in a suitcase and leaving his body behind a Madison County church.

Ealey was immediately sentenced to life without parole. Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty in the case.

The state and the defense both rested Wednesday, but Thursday morning, the prosecution called two rebuttal witnesses. Closing arguments were held Thursday afternoon and the jury got the case around 3 p.m.

Jurors had five options. They could've found her guilty or not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity. The insanity option has three possibilities -- one that she 'has been restored to her reason', or is now sane.  The second, that she is still insane, or thirdly, that she is still insane and is a danger to the community.

The state's last witness Wednesday, Dr. Feng Lei, testified that Ealey's baby died from asphyxiation or suffocation after being wrapped in a comforter then placed in a garbage bag and put in suitcase.

Defense attorneys rested after calling just two witnesses. The first was Ealey's son.  The second was a psychologist, Dr. Gerald O'Brien, who performed a mental evaluation on Ealey after the baby died.

Wednesday Dr. O'Brien testified that she showed signs of depression and anxiety, but he could not determine without a doubt, that she was insane at the time she gave birth.

During testimony it was also revealed that Ealey had an unwanted pregnancy in 2006.  Ealey gave birth to that child in her Flora home, then took him to University Medical Center where the baby was given up for adoption.

The trial was delayed several times while doctors tried to determine her mental state when the crime happened.

District Attorney Michael Guest says two doctors determined she was not insane. He say's a third doctor found she was close to insanity.
During opening statements, prosecutors said Sheila Ealey hid her pregnancy from everyone she knew. They say on June 26, 2010, she drove to the Super 8 motel in Gluckstadt where she gave birth to a little boy.

Guest says Ealey then placed the baby in a comforter, placed it in a trash bag, then inside a suitcase. They say she took the suitcase and placed it behind Smith Chapel Baptist Church.

Madison County Sheriff's Department investigator Robin Welch said Ealey told him she heard the baby cry twice, once during birth and again when she placed the suitcase in her car.

Defense attorneys contend Ealey was a single mother with an unsupportive boyfriend, who was determined to be the father of the baby boy after DNA testing.

They also say she was abducted and raped at gunpoint and was unsure if the baby wasn't the result of the attack.

http://www.wlox.com/story/23175146/trial-begins-for-woman-who-left-her-baby-in-a-suitcase