An Ohio woman accused of killing and burying her newborn daughter was upset and worried when she learned she was pregnant, according to testimony introduced during her murder trial on Thursday.
Brooke Skylar Richardson, now 20, is charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and child endangerment after her newborn was found buried in her backyard. She has pleaded not guilty.
Richardson allegedly told police that she went to the doctor to confirm the pregnancy. She said that the staff at her doctor’s office wanted her to tell her mother that she was pregnant. She says she refused, saying, “My parents are going to kill me.”
Prosecutors allege that Richardson did not want to be an 18-year-old single mom with college only a few months away. In the months after learning of her pregnancy,Richardson didn’t return for an ultrasound, bloodwork or any other treatment, while ignoring calls from the doctor and assistants, prosecutors have said.
Charles Rittgers
In court on Wednesday, prosecutors presented texts that Richardson allegedly sent her mother, who did not realize that her daughter was pregnant.
“I’m literally speechless with how happy I am,” Richardson allegedly wrote in another text. “My belly is back omg I am never ever ever evertrrr letting it grt like this again your about to see me look freaking better than before omg.”
“She was determined to keep her secret,” Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Knippen said during opening statements. “When she could conceal her daughter no longer, she took her daughter’s life.”
Warren County Sheriff’s Office
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Testimony in the case will continue into next week.
source: people.com
