A young mother accused of killing her newborn child was found not guilty of her most serious charges.
Brooke Skylar Richardson, a 20-year-old former cheerleader, was accused of intentionally killing her child in 2017 and burying the baby in her backyard. However, her attorneys said she had a stillbirth when she was 18 and didn’t know what to do at the time but to bury the child. After more than four hours of deliberation, a jury cleared her of the crime, and according to USA Today, she sobbed as the verdict was read.
A sheriff’s deputy cuffed Richardson and led her out of the courtroom to spend just one night in jail.
Richardson was initially charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. At the time, she was facing the potential of life in prison.
A judge dismissed the tampering with evidence charge earlier this week. But later, the jury found her not guilty of all the charges except for gross abuse of a corpse, which happens to be one of the lesser charges.
After the verdict was read, Richardson’s attorneys told reporters they don’t expect her to serve any jail time. They said she has “done enough time.”
According to the article, jurors had to decide whether Richardson was a naive, scared and easily manipulated young woman who had a stillbirth and was coerced into confessing to murder – or someone who killed her child because she was obsessed with external appearances.
They said her perfect life was then in jeopardy due to the fact that the then 18-year-old cheerleader was in love with her boyfriend and planning to go to the University of Cincinnati in the fall. However, she found out she was pregnant, and her boyfriend wasn’t the father.
For nearly two weeks, jurors heard conflicting testimonies, shocking texts, and a disputed confession.
Richardson’s attorneys said her confession to police had been coerced. They said investigators relied on scientific evidence that was proved false to bully the young girl.
It’s also reported that Richardson suffered from eating disorders and was a victim of sexual abuse when she was just 12-years-old. This contributed to a “personality disorder,” causing her to live in ways to please others with a massive fear of rejection. Her attorney’s say this is why she initially confessed to the crimes with police.
However, the defense believes she simply did not want the child. “Unwanted,” said Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Julie Kraft during closing arguments on Thursday. “That’s what Brooke Richardson’s daughter was.”
Meanwhile, Steve Knippen, Assistant Warren County Prosecutor, said Richardson never wanted to have a child. He used text messages to make his final pitch to jurors in court.
“My belly is back,” Knippen said, reading a text message Richardson sent the day she buried the baby to jurors on Thursday. “That belly was her child. That belly was her daughter with fingers and toes and hair on her head. A child she tossed in the dirt.”
Prosecutors then called it the perfect crime, but her attorneys called it a botched investigation into a troubled teen.
With now only one charge, her sentencing was scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday morning. The gross abuse of corpse charge carries a sentence of six to 12 months in prison, but the young mom was sentenced to three years probation instead.
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