Brooke Skylar Richardson, Teen Mom Accused Of Burying Baby, To Start Trial

The trial for a teenage girl in Ohio accused of killing her newborn baby and burying it in her backyard was scheduled to start in November, a judge announced Tuesday. Eighteen-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson was charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

In a pre-trial hearing Tuesday, a Warren County judge set the trial to begin November 6. Richardson pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Authorities found a newborn buried in Richardson’s backyard in July after being tipped off by a local OB-GYN. After discovering the remains, they determined the infant had been a baby girl and that Richardson had her just a few days after her senior prom. Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Richardson somehow caused the baby’s death before burning her and burying her in the backyard.

Richardson, however, remained out of jail after posting bail of merely $50,000. In the lead up to the November trial, Richardson was to remain on house arrest with a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet. Fornshell said his team declined to seek the death penalty because it could be impossible to prove the exact cause of death.

“There was evidence presented to the grand jury that she purposely caused the death of the child,” Fornshell said, according to WCPO. “The grand jury found probable cause that she purposely caused the death of the baby, but that is a far cry proving beyond a reasonable doubt to get the death penalty. The whole discussion was had in my office, and there wasn’t a single prosecutor or assistant prosecutor that looked at this case and believed that this was one where we would be likely to obtain the death penalty.”

Fornshell said he believed Richardson’s obsession with appearances led her to kill the infant.

“You have a situation where she’s a cute recent high school graduate,” he said. “She was a cheerleader. She was described as a good girl by her attorney, as you heard after the arraignment, and I think that kind of perception is one that Skylar wanted to perpetuate.”

Richardson’s defense attorney, Charles Rittgers, staunchly denied the teen caused her baby’s death. Rittgers cited her past good behavior and the fact that she didn’t drink and was a volunteer for children with special needs.

“I can tell you Brooke Skylar Richardson did not kill her baby,” he said last week.

Other than that, precious few details have been released about “Baby Jane Doe,” including the identity of the father. Judge Don Oda issued a gag order for the case last week, ordering the defense and prosecution to immediately stop talking to the press. An attorney for the Cincinnati Enquirer filed a motion Tuesday asking the judge to lift that gag order, arguing that media coverage should not impact the trial, according to WXIX. Oda was scheduled to hear the lawyer’s full argument later this week.