OH - Annabelle Richardson, newborn, found in shallow grave, Carlisle, 7 May 2017 #1

[cherrymeg]

Yes. My prediction is based on how women in her demographic are typically perceived when they kill their kids and how they are typically sentenced.

People are largely unwilling to find young women culpable for neonatocide for a variety of cultural and psychological reasons. She fits precisely the neonaticide profile. Exactly.

Young. Unmarried. Scared of mommy. Unwanted pregnancy. Secrecy. Concealed the pregnancy. Concealed the birth and was totally quiet during it. Didn't ask for help for a supposed stillborn. Concealed the body.

But it's hard for many to not feel empathetic or to accept that she could have knowingly killed her child. And even if they find she knowingly killed her infant people are unwilling to sentence these young women harshly.

Part of the issue is that infants go from fetus to person when they exit the womb. Some states punish mothers for fetal deaths or miscarriages. One woman was arrested for being shot and losing her baby. The charges were dropped.
Woman Charged With Manslaughter for Suffering Miscarriage After Getting Shot
It can become a slippery slope.
The other problem is that many of these girls either have stillbirths or complications that they can't handle alone and lead to death but proving murder is very hard. Child birth still has fatalities even with the best care. Things can go wrong. These young woman are risking their own lives when they refuse to accept that they are pregnant and give birth without help or any medical care throughout the pregnancy. It's tragic and sad.

 

[cherrymeg]

From fox19.com and screenshot

DO NOT CLICK ON IF AVOIDING GRAPHIC

When the pathologist first saw them, they had been in dirt and were brown and black and she had no experience. She didn't even have a scope that did 20 times. She just saw the darkness that perhaps was due to dirt?

Many times during a case I discount the defense saying the prosecution should have done something and they didn't and therefore they have an out, but this one, they should have investigated more and proven if they wanted to say it was burned versus it was just blackish due to being buried. M o o.

Again, this is a mainstream media which I have referenced, but do not look at this as it is graphic is to the bones

Did they DNA test each bone? The confusion over cause of death just makes me want them to be sure they are all human remains that belong to the same person.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Did they DNA test each bone? The confusion over cause of death just makes me want them to be sure they are all human remains that belong to the same person.

Did they DNA test each bone? The confusion over cause of death just makes me want them to be sure they are all human remains that belong to the same person.

In my opinion, I think it's inconceivable that someone of her age could get multiple killings and bodies to put to make one skeleton.

I'm not sure where you are going with that is to multiple bodies. That they aren't the same person and baby. That just does not make sense to me in my opinion.

I'm not sure where you are getting any indication that it is more than one body, perhaps you can explain? That definitely is Off the Wall in my opinion as to a logical conclusion, but I I am open to your explanation as to how it might be more than one body that was found. Would like to understand why you think that.


Moving forward, another article

Skylar Richardson trial: 'I tried to cremate the baby,' she tells her father in police video

“I tried to cremate the baby,” Richardson said after a police interview in 2017.

Video of the interview, which is several hours long, hasn’t been played in court yet. But Assistant Prosecutor Julie Kraft read a transcript of part of the recording when Richardson’s father walked into the interview room.

....

In a police report detailed in court, a detective wrote Richardson lit her baby’s foot on fire with a lighter. The flames flared up to the baby’s chest before Richardson put them out.

ETA I understand there was a lot of discussion between prosecution and defense as to when she was being interviewed, but I do wish that it is always put together in a timeline and shown at one time. Apparently, we are going to hear something that wasn't out take that was not presented it first. As a juror, I would not like that.

 

[ilovematt]

First of all, IMO this healthy debate is one of the most riveting on WS in a while. A meeting of the minds.

I do have a front row seat on the she’s a sociopath by proxy (mom) and master manipulator train though and I bet there are some bombshell details coming soon. The photos and verbiage to her mother while modeling a purported smaller but clearly recently preggo belly put that nail in the coffin. Then she started fake shivering...

 

[ilovematt]

I agree, I was surprised to find such a wonderfully germane article upon first search... also to find the mention of this young woman whose attitude seems similar to Skylar's:



(Regrettably, the baby died as a result of this treatment.)

Also, I found a reference to the CA bodies-of-water article in Slate:

When parents kill.

Wow. The similarities are uncanny and it’s crazy how often this stuff happens. If I remember correctly Casey Anthony’s mom was very controlling and overbearing? I remember a story where Casey was obviously heavily preggo in a maxi dress at a family event and mom and dad acted as if she was not. They all denied it.

 

[cherrymeg]

In my opinion, I think it's inconceivable that someone of her age could get multiple killings and bodies to put to make one skeleton.

I'm not sure where you are going with that is to multiple bodies. That they aren't the same person and baby. That just does not make sense to me in my opinion.

I'm not sure where you are getting any indication that it is more than one body, perhaps you can explain? That definitely is Off the Wall in my opinion as to a logical conclusion, but I I am open to your explanation as to how it might be more than one body that was found. Would like to understand why you think that.


Moving forward, another article

Skylar Richardson trial: 'I tried to cremate the baby,' she tells her father in police video

“I tried to cremate the baby,” Richardson said after a police interview in 2017.

Video of the interview, which is several hours long, hasn’t been played in court yet. But Assistant Prosecutor Julie Kraft read a transcript of part of the recording when Richardson’s father walked into the interview room.

....

In a police report detailed in court, a detective wrote Richardson lit her baby’s foot on fire with a lighter. The flames flared up to the baby’s chest before Richardson put them out.

ETA I understand there was a lot of discussion between prosecution and defense as to when she was being interviewed, but I do wish that it is always put together in a timeline and shown at one time. Apparently, we are going to hear something that wasn't out take that was not presented it first. As a juror, I would not like that.

I didn't mean she put bones there. I was thinking of animal bones being found in the ground along with the infant's.

 

[Jewels53]

Day 3 Part 1

 

[Jewels53]

Day 3 Part 2

 

[Jewels53]

Day 3 Part 3

 

[Seattle1]

In her first interview burning isn't mentioned. The bones were wet or discolored and one of the anthropologists mentioned burning. It sounded like the prosecution ran with that. Under further investigation the forensic anthropologists or the one clearly dismissed burning as the cause of discoloration.

^^bbm

First, I have a disclaimer to add about this case: summer of 2017, I spent a month in Oxford, OH (college town) where you could not cross the street without hearing about BSR and her dead baby buried in her backyard.

As I've been aware of the case for some time, there are a few things I read or heard early on that are difficult to forget.

In the beginning, unfair attacks against the BSR and her family were rampant, and IMO, things finally calmed down only after a gag order was issued Aug 2017 - and not lifted until March 2018.

When the gag order lifted, the Richardson family (including mom Kim) spoke to magazine reporter for the first time. Ever since, the following words by Kim always stuck with me:

Kim stated that she didn't believe Skylar burned her baby-- but she couldn't leave it there...

She went on to added that any ash found with the baby remains could be from BSR's prom flowers that were on the fire pit.

Kim said Skyler dropped the then wilting flowers Brandon had given her -- a bunch of small sweetheart roses-- into the pile of ash for the next burn. (Am I the only one that kept prom flowers pressed in a book)?

But as she dug Annabelle's grave, Skylar remembered the flowers, and retrieved them. Kim says Skylar recalled placing a pink rose on her grandmother's casket the year prior, and decided to do the same for the baby. (But grandmother had the dignity of a casket).

"That was all she had to give her," Kim says, "and they were her favorite color: pink." Skylar covered her baby's body with the flowers - and the ash coating them - before scooping the dirt back over the grave.

For me, it just doesn't follow that you would toss your naked, newborn daughter in a freshly dug hole in the ground, but stop to add flowers from the fire pit. I always thought Kim knew more about any alleged burning attempts, and wanted to explain any evidence that might exist.

This 2017 case was also drawn out for several reasons including late appeal by defense to prevent the ob-gyn doctor and his staff from testifying -- arguing that doctors should not be allowed to testify, citing physician-patient privilege.

The district court ruled that prosecutors could present testimony from the obstetrics-gynecology practice's medical staff. (The appeals court ruled that public interest in detecting crimes to protect society outweighed doctor-patient privilege in this case).

As late as March of this year, the defense again asked the Ohio Supreme Court to intervene with the use of her doctor’s comments in the trial, but the court refused.

MOO

Defense repeats request for Ohio Supreme Court to intervene in buried newborn case

Why Is This 19-Year-Old on Trial for Murder?

 

[Jewels53]

Day 3 Part 4

 

[Jewels53]

^^bbm

First, I have a disclaimer to add about this case: summer of 2017, I spent a month in Oxford, OH (college town) where you could not cross the street without hearing about BSR and her dead baby buried in her backyard.

As I've been aware of the case for some time, there are a few things I read or heard early on that are difficult to forget.

In the beginning, unfair attacks against the BSR and her family were rampant, and IMO, things finally calmed down only after a gag order was issued Aug 2017 - and not lifted until March 2018.

When the gag order lifted, the Richardson family (including mom Kim) spoke to magazine reporter for the first time. Ever since, the following words by Kim always stuck with me:

Kim stated that she didn't believe Skylar burned her baby-- but she couldn't leave it there...

She went on to added that any ash found with the baby remains could be from BSR's prom flowers that were on the fire pit.

Kim said Skyler dropped the then wilting flowers Brandon had given her -- a bunch of small sweetheart roses-- into the pile of ash for the next burn. (Am I the only one that kept prom flowers pressed in a book)?

But as she dug Annabelle's grave, Skylar remembered the flowers, and retrieved them. Kim says Skylar recalled placing a pink rose on her grandmother's casket the year prior, and decided to do the same for the baby. (And grandmother had the dignity of a casket).

"That was all she had to give her," Kim says, "and they were her favorite color: pink." Skylar covered her baby's body with the flowers - and the ash coating them - before scooping the dirt back over the grave.

For me, it just doesn't follow that you would toss your naked, newborn daughter in a freshly dug hole in the ground, but stop to add flowers from the fire pit. I always thought Kim knew more about any alleged burning attempts, and wanted to explain any evidence that might exist.

This 2017 case was also drawn out for several reasons including late appeal by defense to prevent the ob-gyn doctor and his staff from testifying -- arguing that doctors should not be allowed to testify, citing physician-patient privilege.

The district court ruled that prosecutors could present testimony from the obstetrics-gynecology practice's medical staff. (The appeals court ruled that public interest in detecting crimes to protect society outweighed doctor-patient privilege in this case).

As late as March of this year, the defense again asked the Ohio Supreme Court to intervene with the use of her doctor’s comments in the trial, but the court refused.

MOO

Defense repeats request for Ohio Supreme Court to intervene in buried newborn case

Why Is This 19-Year-Old on Trial for Murder?

Thanks for sharing, and this gives one a lot to ponder about. I wouldn't be surprised about Kim at all. imo

 

[Seattle1]

I didn't mean she put bones there. I was thinking of animal bones being found in the ground along with the infant's.

Actually, there were animal bones found but not with the baby in the grave. I believe they were said to be chicken bones -- found in the fire pit.

 

[Seattle1]

Watching a clip of the interrogation when BSR is alone with female investigator, did anybody else notice that BSR and the female (Katy?) appear to know each other? I'm wondering if she may be the school resource officer.

 

[Fidobell]

All of the videos are posted here at this link, in order, beginning with the initial interview with police.

WATCH all videos from Brooke Skylar Richardson trial | Highlights, testimony, interrogations

After listening to these interviews I'm convinced Skylars mum knew about the pregnancy or at the very least suspected , the reaction to the news seems callous and flat . Dads reaction totally different .
However , I'm not understanding the emphasis being put on the doc knowing of pregnancy ,priscribing BC and not ' warning ' SR not to take this BC when preg . Is the dad trying to shift blame ?

 

[mike balto]

So if her attorneys are going for Not Guilty by reason of mental defect, and they're trying to blame bulimia on her inability to make plans for the future, won't that defense be shot down by the fact that she was able to buy a prom dress big enough to cover her pregnant belly? I see what they're doing. They're saying that because somebody has bulimia or anorexia, somebody is mentally ill, and therefore unable to properly prepare for a baby. But in a way, that's a slap in the face of the millions of anorexic girls and women who haven't killed babies. I've seen them do that with Witnesses and defendants, those with PTSD or ADHD. They asked the defendant on the stand if they have a mental illness. It's strange because PTSD is a mental illness, but it's also a mental illness that many police officers and First Responders and heavy machine operators and all sorts of people have. Same with ADHD. If they're looking to mitigate the guilty finding, they're going to have to look at the things bsh did that showed forethought and organization, and planning. She didn't plan for a living baby.period End of sentence. Or perhaps, the beginning of a sentence should start now... Throw the mom and dad in there with her. I have changed positions so many times on this case ... I'm not buying the innocent act. She acts like a little girl when it's convenient. I'm 41 and I do that. Regardless, some things I don't get confused about even when I was her age and bulimic.

 

[mike balto]

This is the image with the text Richardson sent to her mom

 

[Jewels53]

Dr. Susan Brown, forensic pathologist for the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, testified about the autopsy she performed on the baby Brooke Skylar Richardson delivered on May 7, 2017.

The defense says Richardson, then an 18-year-old Carlisle senior, had a stillborn baby in her bathroom, carried her to the backyard and used a garden shovel from the garage to dig a hole and bury her.

‘I tried to cremate my baby’: Medical testimony fills Day 4 of Carlisle buried baby trial

 

[Jewels53]

...
Brown said she ruled this case a homicide based on the exam of the baby’s remains and what Richardson said in her interview with police. She said all of the evidence — information from the scene, police interview, anthropology report and autopsy report — points to a death caused by homicidal violence, but she can’t determine the exact cause of death.
...
Rittgers also accused Brown of confirmation bias and alleged she ignored Richardson’s statements to police about the baby being white and not breathing.

"I did not ignore facts," Brown said. (bbm)
...

Dr. William "Kim" Brady, an expert in maternal and fetal medicine, said intrauterine growth restriction cannot be determined by fundal height (the distance from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus).

Brady said Richardson’s blood work was in a “completely normal range” at her April 26 appointment, and that there was nothing that would indicate a “nutritional issue.”

Richardson's baby's death ruled 'homicidal violence,' doctor says

 

[iluvmua]

So if her attorneys are going for Not Guilty by reason of mental defect, and they're trying to blame bulimia on her inability to make plans for the future, won't that defense be shot down by the fact that she was able to buy a prom dress big enough to cover her pregnant belly? I see what they're doing. They're saying that because somebody has bulimia or anorexia, somebody is mentally ill, and therefore unable to properly prepare for a baby. But in a way, that's a slap in the face of the millions of anorexic girls and women who haven't killed babies. I've seen them do that with Witnesses and defendants, those with PTSD or ADHD. They asked the defendant on the stand if they have a mental illness. It's strange because PTSD is a mental illness, but it's also a mental illness that many police officers and First Responders and heavy machine operators and all sorts of people have. Same with ADHD. If they're looking to mitigate the guilty finding, they're going to have to look at the things bsh did that showed forethought and organization, and planning. She didn't plan for a living baby.period End of sentence. Or perhaps, the beginning of a sentence should start now... Throw the mom and dad in there with her. I have changed positions so many times on this case ... I'm not buying the innocent act. She acts like a little girl when it's convenient. I'm 41 and I do that. Regardless, some things I don't get confused about even when I was her age and bulimic.

Their whole defense.is that she did not.kill her baby, that the baby was stillborn and she just did not know what to do.