Baby Doe

dir. Jessica Earnshaw
100 min.
Screened with an in-person Q&A with director Jessica Earnshaw

Thirty years ago, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to “Geauga’s Child,” and she is arrested for murder — despite saying the baby was stillborn. Facing a life sentence, Gail leans on her family for support as she confronts the weight of societal and religious pressures.

Directed by Jessica Earnshaw (Jacinta), BABY DOE cuts through the headlines to uncover the human complexity of Gail’s case — examining the intersection of women’s health, justice, and the outside forces that continue to shape stories like hers.

“…an empathetic film that plays like a true crime documentary in which the question is not who did it, but why.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“‘Baby Doe is an unflinching look at a devastating case of denied pregnancy” – Jezebel