CHARDON, Ohio (WOIO) – The murder trial continues Saturday in the high-profile “Geauga’s Child” case with the defense beginning to call witnesses.

On Friday, the prosecution rested its case against Gail Ritchey, the woman arrested in 2019 for the alleged murder of her newborn son, according to to Geauga County Court of Common Pleas records.

**19 News will be providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the “Geauga’s Child” trial**

The trial has thus far included opening statements, some witness testimony and the presentation of evidence by the prosecution.

Court records show Ritchey is charged with murder and aggravated murder in connection to the decades-old crime, which authorities said was solved using DNA testing.

The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office said Ritchey confessed to giving birth to the baby, putting him in a plastic bag, and abandoning him in a wooded area in Thompson Township in March 1993.

The baby was found dead with its umbilical cord still attached by two newspaper delivery drivers in the middle of Sidley Road.

Thursday’s testimony from multiple witnesses revolved around whether or not the baby was born alive.

Defense lawyers argued the baby was stillborn when Ritchey allegedly put him in a bag.

The prosecution played a police interrogation video Friday showing Ritchey after her initial arrest.

“I don’t remember it making any noise,” Ritchey described during questioning.

The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office said the baby was missing an arm and a leg, possibly mauled by animals and dragged into the road before the discovery.

Residents of Geauga County paid for a funeral and gravestone for the baby they called “Geauga’s Child.” Many still visit his grave to this day.

Authorities said Ritchey is currently married to the father of “Geauga’s Child” and has three adult children.

Ritchey hid the pregnancy from her family and the child’s father, according to the Geauga County sheriff, which is why nobody else is facing charges in connection to the murder.

Despite her confession to detectives, Ritchey pleaded not guilty during her initial arraignment.

Ritchey also admitted to detectives that she committed a similar crime two years prior to the birth of Geauga’s Child in Cuyahoga County. That case is still under investigation.

This story will be updated.

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