Teen Acquitted Of Killing Her Newborn Avoids Jail On Charge Of Corpse Abuse

A former Ohio high school cheerleader, who was acquitted of killing her newborn baby, was sentenced to three years of probation for a lesser charge of corpse abuse. Brooke Skylar Richardson, who is now 20 years old, was accused of killing her newborn daughter and burying the unwanted child in her parent's backyard.

Prosecutors argued that she did not want the child and feared it would "ruin her perfect life."

"Shortly, after murdering her daughter and placing her daughter in the dirt, and not even having the decency to cover it with a blanket, she sent two elated text messages: My belly is back, my belly is back," Assistant Prosecutor Steven Knippen said in court.

Richardson claimed that her daughter, who she named Annabelle, was stillborn and she was scared when she gave birth in the middle of the night. She felt her only option was to conceal the birth from her parents and decided to bury the baby in the backyard.

By the time the remains were discovered nearly two weeks later, they had decomposed, which prevented the coroner from determining the cause of death.

Richardson was acquitted on charges of aggravated murder, involuntary murder and child endangerment, but was found guilty of corpse abuse.

She was sentenced to three years of probation and released. If she abides by the terms of her probation and stays out of trouble for the next three years, the charges will be wiped from her record.


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