On July 24th, 2020, the Gallia County Sheriff’s Facebook page released three posts related to a crime that a mother shoots her infant child. In the original post, they stated that 911 received a call stating that an infant victim had received a gunshot wound.
The Infant child received immediate aid from the deputy’s who arrived at the scene and sent to Huntington Trauma Center where she was reported to be in critical condition. The post stated that the Sheriff’s office was receiving aid in the case from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
In the original post, no details on suspects or perpetrators were reported, other than the fact that one suspect was taken into custody and that further details would be released as they became available A few hours later, an update was posted that provided further details on the situation.
It stated that an individual identified as Joyceann Louise Ruane was being charged with attempted aggravated murder. The post also clarified that Mrs. Ruane was the mother of the sixteen-month-old infant girl. When the first update was released, the infant was still listed as being in critical condition.
The final update on the case stated that the infant had died from the injuries she sustained during the incident. As a result, Mrs. Ruane’s charges had been changed from attempted aggravated murder to aggravated murder. This was the sad conclusion to a devastating crime committed by a mother who shoots her infant child.
