WESTFIELD—A Westfield woman was arrested and arraigned on charges related to an alleged disposal of a full-term fetus in May.
Shanna M. Sharples, 38, of 50 Southampton Road, Westfield, was arrested Tuesday and arraigned on charges of improper disposal of a body, three counts of obstruction of justice and one charge of child endangerment at Westfield District Court yesterday, according to the Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s Office. The arrest and arraignment comes after police previously searched the Twiss Street Transfer Station in Westfield, along with Sharples’s apartment, beginning in May.
Shanna Sharples, picture provided by Westfield Police Department
According to Hampden County Assistant District Attorney Jane Mulqueen in Westfield District Court during the arraignment yesterday, police reported that Sharples had checked into Baystate Noble Hospital on May 4. According to the statement of facts by police, this was due to a possible miscarriage.
“Sharples reported to Noble with a placenta and an umbilical cord in a plastic bag,” Mulqueen said in court Wednesday.
According to Mulqueen, Sharples, who is said to be a mother of three, allegedly told medical staff at the hospital that that was all that had been delivered. However, Mulqueen said that doctors reported that a “full-term or near full-term fetus would have been attached,” and police were notified. Sharples was also transferred to Baystate Medical Center for further care.
Westfield Police and Massachusetts State Police had searched the defendant’s apartment after being notified by medical staff but were unsuccessful in locating a fetus.
According to Mulqueen, investigators spoke with Sharples around this time and she reportedly denied that a fetus was attached to the umbilical cord or placenta that had reportedly come from Sharples.
Mulqueen said that the “search and attempted rescue of the infant was continued,” including police searching the Twiss Street transfer station in Westfield in efforts to see if the alleged remains were discarded in the trash. During the search, officials had the transfer station closed for several days.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, about 50 tons of trash was searched through by police. Cadaver dogs were also reportedly brought in to assist in the search.
Mulqueen reported that in spite of these efforts, police were reportedly unsuccessful in finding a body. Police however, police reportedly recovered bloody clothing from the trash that was believed to have been used to clean a bathroom allegedly related to the incident.
According to Mulqueen during the hearing, investigators received expert medical opinions from doctors at Baystate Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital, and both concurred that it was likely a full-term infant was attached to the placenta and that one was reportedly delivered.
However, Mulqueen said that Sharples continues to deny this.
“She maintains, and continues to maintain, that she did not deliver a full-term baby,” Mulqueen said during the arraignment.
During the arraignment, Mulqeen also noted that Sharples’s three children were taken into custody by the Department of Children and Families.
The state requested a $25,000 bail be set for Sharples, though the defendant’s attorney Anastasia Franco argued no bail should be set due to financial restraints for both the defendant and her family.
According to Franco, Sharples is also a lifelong Westfield resident with a limited criminal history, who has several ties to the area and wants to be reunited with her children, so she does not pose to be “a flight risk.”
Bail was set at $10,000 by District Court Judge Michele Ouimet-Rooke, and if posted then additional pretrial conditions would be in effect. The next hearing, which is for a pretrial conference, is scheduled for Nov. 3.
