Former Ohio cheerleader Brooke Skylar Richardson who killed her baby Annabelle and buried her in family yard begins murder trial
WARREN COUNTY, OHIO: An Ohio cheerleader accused of killing her newborn baby girl and burying her in her family yard will be starting her trial soon.
The 20-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson appeared at the Warren County Court earlier this week, more than two years after the death of her baby Annabelle. Richardson was 18 years old when the murder took place only a few days after her high school prom.
She faces charges of aggravated murder and involuntary manslaughter which could result in a life sentence if she is found guilty. Warren County Judge Donald Oda revealed that the jurors would be filling out a complete questionnaire before the selection.
He added that the jury pool was much larger in this case and the selection would have to be finished in stages, according to a news.au.com report. Richardson had baby Annabelle in 2017 and then allegedly smashed the baby's skull.
She is alleged to have also lit the child on fire in an attempt to burn the corpse. According to Richardson's attorneys, she had given birth to a stillborn baby and buried the fetus in the backyard. However, it is believed that she murdered the infant on purpose as she did not want to be pregnant.
The officials had first heard of the baby from a doctor whom Richardson had visited. Richardson was full-term when she had given birth to the baby girl and had delivered the child in the bathroom. Shortly after this, the remains of the infant were found.
County Prosecutor David Fornshell shared that Richardson and her family were very worried about the reaction of the community to her pregnancy without being married.
In the early proceedings, he shared, "Skylar and her family, particularly her mother, were pretty obsessed with external appearances and how things appeared to the outside world."
There are two Facebook pages dedicated to the case and many critics of the family have uploaded videos and photos of the family. According to Richardson's defense attorneys, she did not kill the baby and an expert witness revealed that there no signs of burning or trauma.
"What started as an 18-year-old high school girl who was frightened and saddened because of giving birth to a stillborn baby whom she named Annabelle and then telling her doctor of the stillborn and burial in the backyard has turned into something sinister and grotesque," they shared.