LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — A young Ohio mother who prosecutors said killed and buried her unwanted newborn in her backyard just days after her senior prom so that she could keep her "perfect life" was acquitted of murder Thursday.
Brooke Skylar Richardson, now 20, began shaking and sobbing while a judge read the not guilty verdicts on aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges.
She had faced up to life in prison if she had been convicted on the most serious charge.
Richardson, though, was found guilty of corpse abuse by the Warren County jury that deliberated for four hours. She'll be sentenced Friday. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison, but as a first-time offender, she could get probation.
Richardson was walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs after Warren County Judge Donald Oda II revoked her bond. She and her mother exchanged tearful "I love you's'" as deputies led her away.
Richardson didn't respond when reporters later asked her if she had anything to say.
The case divided people in her hometown of Carlisle, with Facebook pages devoted to it and some critics trying to record the Richardson family's comings and goings for social media.
Prosecutors contended that the high school cheerleader wanted to keep her "perfect life" that included plans to begin classes at the University of Cincinnati. They said she hid her unwanted pregnancy and buried her baby in her family's backyard in May 2017, just after her senior prom.
Her defense said the baby she named "Annabelle" was stillborn and that the teen was sad and scared.
The remains were found about two months after she gave birth, buried in the backyard of her home where she lived with her parents in Carlisle, a village about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Cincinnati.
A forensic pathologist who testified for the prosecution concluded the baby died from "homicidal violence." Prosecutors said Richardson had searched on the internet for "how to get rid of a baby." They played video for the jury of a police interview in which Richardson said the baby might have moved and made noises.
Cincinnati psychologist Stuart Bassman said "Skylar was being manipulated" into making false statements during interrogations. He described Richardson as a vulnerable, immature person whose dependent personality disorder makes her want to please authority figures, even to the point of making incriminating statements that were untrue.
Julie Kraft, an assistant prosecutor, suggested that besides wanting to please authorities, Richardson's desire to please her family and boyfriend and fear of them abandoning her could have motivated her to commit extreme acts.
Her attorneys had had twice asked to move the trial that drew daily coverage from Court TV, citing intense publicity they said was fueled by the prosecution. But the judge denied their motions.
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Associated Press writer Dan Sewell contributed in Cincinnati.
