A year-long investigation into the death of a newborn baby led to the arrest of three people in Pendleton County, including the mother, according to Falmouth Police Chief Marty Hart.
Kimberly Shepperd, 28, is facing charges of incest, concealing the birth of an infant and abuse of a corpse; Allen Newkirk, 62, is being charged with incest; Billy Shepperd, 82, faces one count of abuse of a corpse. All three people were arrested in April, sometime last week.
Kimberly Reported Suffering Miscarriage at Hospital, Staff Suspected She Had Already Given Birth
On March 1, 2023, Pendleton County dispatchers received a 911 call around 7:30 p.m. from Harrison Memorial Hospital's emergency room requesting officers to perform a welfare check at a location in the 500 block of Montjoy Street, according to a news release.
Hospital emergency room staff suspected a newborn infant may be in distress because a Falmouth woman, now known as Kimberly, came to the hospital complaining of suffering from a miscarriage, the release states.
Upon further evaluation, the nursing staff thought the woman may have given birth and there may be a newborn infant that had been left behind, Pendleton County EMS spokesman Rob Braun said.
Baby Found at Kimberly's Home with Placenta Still Attached, Pronounced Deceased at Hospital
Falmouth police responded to the vacant Montjoy Street home and found a newborn baby boy not breathing under a blanket on a mattress in a vacant house.
"The lady in question had just given birth to the child," Chief Hart explained. "The child was on a mattress where the lady had been lying. It was a newborn infant. The placenta was still attached to the baby." The infant was transported to Harrison Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead by the Harrison County Coroner.
Kimberly was in an Incestual Relationship with Her Uncle, DNA Confirmed He was the Child's Father
On Tuesday, Falmouth Police Chief Marty Hart revealed that Kimberly was having an incestual relationship with Allen Newkirk, her maternal uncle.
According to WCPO, Sheppard admitted that her uncle impregnated her and she hid the pregnancy. After giving birth, her grandfather, Billy Shepperd, took her to the hospital. She reportedly also told her grandfather she suffered a miscarriage.
Interviews, forensic samples, DNA samples, follow-up interviews and physical evidence were all collected by police. DNA and the infant's body were sent to the medical examiner with the Kentucky State Police Crime Lab, Chief Hart explained. It took nine months for the DNA results to come back, which confirmed that Kimberly and her uncle were the parents of the child.
All three suspects were taken to the Bourbon County Jail. Billy posted out of jail on a $5,000 bond and Kimberly was bailed out on a $20,000 bond. Newkirk is still there on a $20,000 bond.
