Source: Momorad / Getty
Former Ohio Teenager Acquitted On Charges Of Murdering Her Newborn baby
20-year old Brooke Skylar Richardson was found not guilty on Friday after being accused of killing her newborn baby and burying her in the backyard. The former Ohio cheerleader was acquitted on three serious charges, including aggravated murder and involuntary manslaughter — however, the jury did find her guilty of gross abuse of a corpse which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
According to reports, the defense team argued during the trial that Richardson, who was a high school cheerleader at the time, was scared because the baby, which she named Annabelle, was stillborn. Meanwhile, prosecutors suggested that Richardson killed her baby and then buried the body in the backyard of her family’s home in Carlisle, Ohio days after her high school prom because she did not want to “ruin her perfect life”.
Assistant prosecutor Steven Knippen said in court:
“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.”
The shocking verdict came after an eight-day trial during which jurors had to decide whether Richardson was just a frightened 17-year old who experienced a stillbirth or “a cold-blooded murderer”; and they chose the latter. The young defendant was sentenced to three years of basic supervision but will serve no more jail time. As part of the sentence she was set to spend seven days in the county jail, but Warren County Judge Donald Oda II credited her with time already served.
Meanwhile, there are women of color sitting in jail for crimes they actually didn’t do. SMH. This story totally reeks of White privilege.