In light of the recent Lindsay Clancy trial that is occurring [as of the time of writing this review], a new documentary about a similar case is coming out. Baby Doe follows Gail Ritchey; 30 years ago, she left her newborn infant in the woods after giving birth to a child no one in her life knew about. Authorities used DNA testing to finally link the cold case to her, who had gone on to have a family and was by all accounts, a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother.
Gail comes from a conservative Christian background, which definitely played a part in why she didn’t tell anyone about the birth of this child, which went on to become the “Geauga’s Child” case. The interesting part of this documentary is that Gail confessed to having done this with another child prior to the case she was eventually prosecuted for. The issue, though; is because authorities never found the body of this child, she was only charged with the death of one baby.
Baby Doe is almost entirely from the side of the defense. We follow Gail’s defense attorney as he’s building a case that argues that Gail did not intentionally kill her child and even had something called “pregnancy denial”, which caused her to dissociate during the actual act of going into labor. The defense even argued that the baby was a stillbirth, despite the prosecution’s medical experts determining that the child did breathe upon being born. Unlike the Lindsay Clancy case, Ritchey did not physically kill her child, and was quite young when she became pregnant. Ritchey was not married at the time of her pregnancy, which was a big no-no in her conservative religious upbringing.
The documentary focuses on the humanity behind Gail Ritchey and her life. It’s been thirty years since she gave birth to that baby and in the years since, she’s gotten married to the father of that child (who stands behind her 100%), has had children of her own, and even grandchildren. Her family and the congregants of her church all stand behind her and she seems like a nice woman. There are several moments in the film where she’s comforting her grandchild and you can see how wonderful of a grandma she is. That perhaps, she shouldn’t be judged for a mistake she made as a young woman who was scared of her religious community.
However, the documentary should have done more to show both sides of this case. It is very obvious that it is not an unbiased take on the Gail Ritchey case. Baby Doe should have included testimony from the authorities who found the child’s body, the prosecution team, or even medical examiners who could prove that the deceased child did breathe outside the womb. It is very obvious that the documentary is making a case for Gail’s innocence, since she is currently serving a life sentence. Gail Ritchey was found guilty of murder for the death of her son in 2022 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Her appeal in 2023 was denied. So, Gail is serving a life sentence and not likely to get out any time soon. Was this documentary created as a means of appeal?
As a mother, there is definitely sympathy I have for Gail Ritchey. She seems like a nice woman and was genuinely heartbroken by the images shown of the baby during the trial. There was even a moment where she verbally stopped her husband for expressing joy because he thought that they “had it in the bag” and would win the trial. Gail reminded her husband that there is a dead child at the heart of all of this (two if we want to count the other child she confessed to leaving prior to the “Geauga’s Child”). We are not prosecutors nor are we judges, so who knows what the appropriate sentence was for Gail, but after getting to know her, it is sad to think that her family now is without her. It certainly does not seem like she behaved maliciously.
There has to be something said, though; when it comes to the case of Gail Ritchey and even more current, Lindsay Clancy. What about the children? Baby Doe and the Lindsay Clancy case focus so much on the mother’s and the question of mental health and women’s care and certainly, there are discussions that need to be had surrounding these topics. But, what about the children? I will leave you with that.
Overall, Baby Doe is a well-done documentary, albeit one with an agenda, as opposed to unbiased storytelling. Allowing the viewers to spend time with the Ritchey family made the outcome of the trial at the end of the documentary heartbreaking, because you know that a loving grandma is being taken from her family. And while there were times where her religious upbringing was mentioned as a means of framing her Christianity in a bad light, it was nice to see the forgiveness and acceptance of the church members. The documentary was most likely trying to frame these scenes in a different light, but it instead showed the core values that should be followed by members of the faith – such as forgiveness and love.
Baby Doe becomes available for streaming September 19th.
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