A young Ohio mother who prosecutors said killed and buried her unwanted newborn in her backyard just days after her senior prom so that she could keep her “perfect life” was acquitted of murder on Sept. 12.
Brooke Skylar Richardson, now 20, began shaking and sobbing while a judge read the not guilty verdicts on aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges.
“We love you so much,” her mother said to her, reported People magazine. “We love you, baby.”
She had faced up to life in prison if she had been convicted on the most serious charge.
Richardson, though, was found guilty of corpse abuse by the Warren County jury that deliberated for four hours. She’ll be sentenced Friday. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison, but as a first-time offender, she could get probation.
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell stated that he believes Richardson had a fair trial, adding that “advocacy on both sides was very well done,” according to the report.
Prosecutors had alleged that Richardson never intended to keep the baby before killing her and burying the child on her family’s property in Carlisle.
She was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after Warren County Judge Donald Oda II revoked her bond. Richardson didn’t respond when reporters later asked her if she had anything to say.
The case divided people in her hometown of Carlise, with Facebook pages devoted to it and some critics trying to record the Richardson family’s comings and goings for social media.
Prosecutors contended that the high school cheerleader wanted to keep her “perfect life” that included plans to begin classes at the University of Cincinnati. They said she hid her unwanted pregnancy and buried her baby in her family’s backyard in May 2017, just after her senior prom.
Defense lawyers said that the baby she named “Annabelle” was stillborn, citing Richardson’s health history. They argued that her reactions to the pregnancy and delivery were signs of terror, not malice.
The remains were found about two months after she gave birth, buried in the backyard of her home where she lived with her parents in Carlisle, a village about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.
A forensic pathologist who testified for the prosecution concluded the baby died from “homicidal violence.”
Prosecutors said Richardson had searched on the internet for “how to get rid of a baby.” They played video for the jury of a police interview in which Richardson said the baby might have moved and made noises.
She also sent a text message to her mother about her belly after giving birth. “I am literally speechless with how happy I am my belly is back OMG,” Richardson allegedly texted, referring to weight loss.
During an interview with police, Richardson allegedly told them that she didn’t return phone calls from her doctor because she was scared.
“I didn’t really want to have my baby,” she told police, People reported. “I really don’t know what I planned to do.”
Cincinnati psychologist Stuart Bassman said “Skylar was being manipulated” into making false statements during interrogations. He described Richardson as a vulnerable, immature person whose dependent personality disorder makes her want to please authority figures, even to the point of making incriminating statements that were untrue.
Julie Kraft, an assistant prosecutor, suggested that besides wanting to please authorities, Richardson’s desire to please her family and boyfriend and fear of them abandoning her could have motivated her to commit extreme acts.
Her attorneys had had twice asked to move the trial that drew daily coverage from Court TV, citing intense publicity they said was fueled by the prosecution. But the judge denied their motions.
Epoch Times Reporter Jack Phillips Contributed to this report.
