OH - Annabelle Richardson, newborn, found in shallow grave, Carlisle, 7 May 2017 #2

[Mandos]

I found the risk factors for being a stillborn. To my knowledge Skylar had only one of them (not living with a partner):

I based my list on the following sources:

1. What are the risk factors for stillbirth?

Maternal Reproductive History

• Never having given birth before

Fetal Characteristics

• Small size in the fetus, given its age (sometimes called small for gestational age [SGA]). SGA can sometimes be due to growth restriction, a risky condition in which there is a problem with the pregnancy that prevents the fetus from growing as well as it could otherwise.

2. Pregnancy and Eating Disorders

Complications of Disordered Eating During Pregnancy:

Risks for the Baby: Poor development, premature birth, low birth weight, respiratory distress, feeding difficulties, and other perinatal complications.

3. Neonatal Death Risk: Effect Of Prenatal Care Is Most Evident After Term Birth

Lack of prenatal care is associated with a 40% increase in the risk of neonatal death overall and a doubling of the risk among women delivering at or after 36 weeks' gestation.

4. Prolonged Labor: Causes and Treatment

 

[gitana1]

Is this how denial works, though? I’m thinking of my mother in law who was told, repeatedly, that her husband had dementia. He was fired from his job. Family friends sat her down and told her. He ate raw bacon and got lost on dog walks and forgot his own granddaughter. But at every medical appointment she lied and covered for him and then clung to the fact that they said it wasn’t dementia as a result. By the time she accepted it, he had to be put in a home.

Denial is the brain protecting itself from news it cannot handle. It isn’t resolved by that news being spoken or confirmed - in fact it often arises directly in the front of such confirmation, and allows the person to live as if those words had never been spoken.

Maybe. I don't think so though because she took specific steps to see if she could end the pregnancy. You don't do that of you're in denial. She also took steps to fool her mother. That's manipulation and lying. Not denial. I mean she didn't say, "No doctor. You need to give me birth control pills because I'm not pregnant and I don't want to be."

Instead she acknowledged to the doctor that she was pregnant, asked if she could have an abortion, said she had plans for the future semester and could not have a baby and then said she was not ready to tell her parents so he needed to fill a prescription so she could walk out of there and fool her mom.

She then researched how to get rid of a baby and per her interview with the police, how to have an abortion without going to a doctor.

She knew exactly what she was doing, IMO and was clear about her status.

She just ran out of viable options at the end, other than death.

 

[gitana1]

I based my list on the following sources:

1. What are the risk factors for stillbirth?

Maternal Reproductive History

• Never having given birth before

Fetal Characteristics

• Small size in the fetus, given its age (sometimes called small for gestational age [SGA]). SGA can sometimes be due to growth restriction, a risky condition in which there is a problem with the pregnancy that prevents the fetus from growing as well as it could otherwise.

2. Pregnancy and Eating Disorders

Complications of Disordered Eating During Pregnancy:

Risks for the Baby: Poor development, premature birth, low birth weight, respiratory distress, feeding difficulties, and other perinatal complications.

3. Neonatal Death Risk: Effect Of Prenatal Care Is Most Evident After Term Birth

Lack of prenatal care is associated with a 40% increase in the risk of neonatal death overall and a doubling of the risk among women delivering at or after 36 weeks' gestation.

From just your first source:

Maternal Characteristics

• Low socioeconomic status
• Older age (older than age 35)
• Smoking tobacco or marijuana during or just before pregnancy, or exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy
• Using illegal drugs before or during pregnancy

Maternal Medical Conditions

• Being overweight or obese
• Diabetes before pregnancy
• High blood pressure before pregnancy

Maternal Reproductive History

• Never having given birth before
• Previous stillbirth or small for gestational age infant
• Pregnancy with twins, triplets, or other multiples
• Assisted reproductive technology

Fetal Characteristics

• Small size in the fetus, given its age (sometimes called small for gestational age [SGA]). SGA can sometimes be due to growth restriction, a risky condition in which there is a problem with the pregnancy that prevents the fetus from growing as well as it could otherwise.

In that one she has only one of the 11 factors. Again, I'm not sure we know the size of the fetus, do we? What did the ultrasound indicate?

From the second source, nothing about stillbirth as a risk factor for people with eating disorders. Although that would make sense. But it is not noted in your cite. And I don't think she looked at all anorexic when pregnant. She looked curvy.

Finally, when examining the third source, and all your sources, and looking at the characteristics of neonaticides, I think her risk of purposefully killing her newborn was vastly greater than a stillbirth.

 

[stmarysmead]

A 17-year-old is going to make choices about sex whether her mother knows about it or not. A mother is in utter denial if she doesn't acknowledge that reality. The fact is, BSR had a boyfriend and had unprotected sex with him and a pregnancy resulted.

Anorexia is a pretty serious mental disorder that can lead to death. It absolutely should be treated by a professional and failure to provide professional health treatment to a child is a crime. If BSR had received counseling for an eating disorder, I think her close family members would have known it.

JMO

Family Sheds New Light On Brooke Skylar Richardson Case

That s a puff piece organized by the defense. It is intended to put her in the best light. Of course, they are going to portray her as an angel of innocence. And just because they don’t mention her being treated for her disorder, does not mean she wasn’t.

I was displeased with the DA and the Pretrial publicity and think this was a necessary counter. I don’t see proof of murder yet. But I do not see this angelic victim with evil Mom and no place to turn.

Those videos really flipped me. I understand others see her very sympathetically. Well, a Florida jury freed Casey Anthony...so every jury is a mystery of its own making.

 

[ReillyElizabeth]

Sorry. I should have included the link!


"Richardson told Andrew she wasn’t ready to tell her parents she was pregnant. She needed a prescription for birth control to show her mother, who was in the waiting room. Andrew hesitantly gave Richardson the prescription but insisted that she return as soon as possible for prenatal care. Over the next several weeks, Andrews office tried calling Richardson for follow-up exams but never received a response."

Brooke Skylar Richardson Trial: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

Thanks so much! I’ll be interested to see if there is any evidence to support the statement in that article. It is not consistent with the doctor’s testimony.

 

[Jewels53]

These explanations might sound like BS excuses to many people, but BSR's mental illness, underdeveloped prefrontal cortex due to her age (and possibly malnutrition), and arguably neglectful parenting are still part of the equation. What she did is still wrong (whether she killed the baby, neglected it, or just hid its truly stillborn body), but I believe her state of mind is still something the jury must consider.

I have been gone this afternoon and just got home so just now reading the post.

I haven't read that Skylar had a mental illness and underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Do you have a link for this? please and tia

 

[ReillyElizabeth]

The first interview is like 2 hours

Yes, I know. I watched it. I just didn’t see that language. I’ll need to watch it again when I have time.

 

[BlackCloud]

Her lawyers are just doing what they're supposed to do (which means doing their best to get a not guilty verdict or in the worst case a minimum sentence).
Anyways I think that this is more a manslaughter than a murder.
In case of a guilty verdict probably she will spend just a few years in prison

 

[MJPeony]

I have only recently started following this case, and therefore I’m still catching up. I’ve not fully formed my own opinion on what I think transpired that night- and this case certainly has complicated factors, relationships, psychological elements, etc.

However....
One thing I’m so far unable to move past is that for someone who: clearly did not want the baby (self proclaimed), who had an image to uphold in her community, who was scared of her parents’ judgement, who had an eating/body image disorder, who concealed her pregnancy, and who did not seek out proper parental care- the outcome of a supposed stillbirth seems awfully coincidental and convenient. Not saying it couldn’t happen.... Just incredibly coincidental. MOO.

So at this point from what I’ve learned, the case may come down to whether the court believes the poor prenatal care/eating issues/taking bc pills while pregnant CAUSED/CONTRIBUTED TO the stillbirth, or whether these were all data points which help build the case that she chose to murder the baby after she was born.

 

[MyBelle]

I found the risk factors for being a stillborn. To my knowledge Skylar had only one of them (not living with a partner):

After evaluating a number of factors, they found many maternal factors associated with stillbirth. They include:

• Being African-American
• Having diabetes
• Being age 40 or older
• Having AB blood type
• Having a history of illegal drug use with addiction
• Smoking cigarettes in the three months before getting pregnant
• Being overweight or obese
• Not living with a partner
• Having a previous stillbirth
• Carrying multiples

Studies Identify Stillbirth Risk Factors, Causes

Her eating disorder would be a huge risk factor:


The following complications are associated with eating disorders during pregnancy:

• Premature labor
• Low birth weight
• Stillbirth or fetal death
• Increased risk of cesarean birth
• Delayed fetal growth
• Respiratory problems
• Gestational diabetes
• Complications during labor
• Depression
• Miscarriage
• Preeclampsia
  
  https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/pregnancy-and-eating-disorders/

 

[gitana1]

Her lawyers are just doing what they're supposed to do (which means doing their best to get a not guilty verdict or in the worst case a minimum sentence).
Anyways I think that this is more a manslaughter than a murder.
In case of a guilty verdict probably she will spend just a few years in prison

Yes to all.

 

[osu]

How do we know she didn't judge her daughter for needing birth control? Sounds to me like she was judged for eating popcorn, frankly.

Those parents were downright disturbing in their response to her. I don't think normal parents would react with anything other than horror and grief and a desire to protect at such a moment.

Did you hear the mother? It was ALL about her. "I thought my life was perfect!" "What will [people] think." "The neighbor's know."

Regardless of how much a kid may have put her parents through up to that point, at a moment like that it's a desperate crisis and should be a sign that everything has failed and your kid is totally sick and/or has gone through a horrific event.

They were cold and judgmental. They seemed unconcerned with her feelings or even health.

And others said her mom was controlling.

Agree. Both parents reactions in the interrogation room seemed so totally *off* to me.

Cold, anger, judgement, shaming, blame.
No reactions of shock, horror or grief though.

Very odd for just learning a few moments before that your daughter had been pregnant and buried her baby, your grandchild, in your backyard.

Could it be that the parents already knew everything previously and had time to process the shock?

Were they acting the best they could in the interrogation room pretending like they didn’t know?

JMO

 

[proctorelites]

I have been gone this afternoon and just got home so just now reading the post.

I haven't read that Skylar had a mental illness and underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Do you have a link for this? please and tia

Teen brains are not adult brains that's why teens can make the worst decisions. Brains are underdeveloped until around 25 years of age. And eating disorders are a mental illness, we hear Skyler suffered with anorexia and bulemia, as mentioned in the 2nd article.

"....In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part..."
Understanding the Teen Brain - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center

Brooke Skylar Richardson Stillborn Baby Murder Trial - Teen Charged With Killing Infant

 

[fred&edna]

Is there a clear reason why all the remains/bones were were not collected on the first visit to the home? I mean, they were recognized to be infant bones on the scene - so it seems they would stay until all was recovered. Wouldn't that be logical as that's what they were seeking?

 

[Tillicum]

That s a puff piece organized by the defense. It is intended to put her in the best light. Of course, they are going to portray her as an angel of innocence. And just because they don’t mention her being treated for her disorder, does not mean she wasn’t.

I was displeased with the DA and the Pretrial publicity and think this was a necessary counter. I don’t see proof of murder yet. But I do not see this angelic victim with evil Mom and no place to turn.

Those videos really flipped me. I understand others see her very sympathetically. Well, a Florida jury freed Casey Anthony...so every jury is a mystery of its own making.

BBM I agree. Of all those family members and friends, there wasn't one of them she could turn to? No one she could talk to? They're all supporting her after knowing she kept her pregnancy a secret and buried a newborn baby girl in a dirty hole in the back yard. I think they would've supported her had she told one of them she was pregnant. IMO she didn't want to turn to anyone or she would have. IMO she wanted to handle it her way and she did.

 

[Mandos]

Very well written and understood. If you're a criminal defense attorney you can be verified here. Might be helpful.

You've given me food for thought. However, I think the totality of the circumstances is what must be examined, not evidence isolated in a vacuum. Altogether it is a compelling picture of homicide IMO.

She had an ultrasound. Did that indicate the baby was underweight or is that conjecture based on the fact that no one supposedly detected her pregnancy.

If one part of an interview is false I wholeheartedly disagree that the whole thing must be thrown out. That's not logical IMO and fact is often mixed with fiction.

If what you're saying is true then the interview in which Chris Watts admitted to killing his wife and revealed where he put the bodies is meaningless and should be thrown out because he wasn't telling the truth when in that same interview, he claimed his wife killed the kids and not he.

Leading questions are an acceptable interrogation technique and do lead to solid evidence. This is not an interview of a child victim of abuse. Or of a witness to a crime. In those cases leading questions would be improper.

Finally, I think you're from my mom's country- the Netherlands? She was born in Den Helder, grew up in Amsterdam before and during the war and moved to Amersfoort after the war!

Welcome here!

Thanks for the welcome! I'm indeed from the Netherlands. I'm not a defense attorney, but a senior law clerk at the criminal law section of one of the Dutch courts of appeal, so I'll be your go-to person if there's ever a Dutch criminal trial being discussed on these forums!

I'm not sure exactly what her doctor told BSR with regards to the results of the ultrasound, except that there was a strong heartbeat. We know he told BSR she was 32 weeks pregnant and could be expected to deliver in 8-10 weeks, while in fact she was nearly full term and delivered a week and a half later. That -to me- indicates that the baby may have been underweight/underdeveloped, because that's seems like a pretty big error to make for an OB-GYN, especially after conducting an ultrasound.

Whilst one part of an interview being false may not necessarily mean other parts are false as well, it's definitely reason to review the rest of the interview with a strong critical eye. And of course acceptable interrogation techniques can still lead to false confessions, so it's always beneficial to underpin a confession with solid objective evidence as well. It's true that the Reid technique is widely used in the USA and Canada (much less so in Europe) and has the benefit that a high percentage of those interrogated will confess. However, there is growing evidence that the Reid technique results in a significant number of false confessions, especially among the young, the psychologically less robust, the mentally impaired and those of low intelligence, and it is with this knowledge in mind that I approach the second interrogation with strong caution.

 

[MyBelle]

Her lawyers are just doing what they're supposed to do (which means doing their best to get a not guilty verdict or in the worst case a minimum sentence).
Anyways I think that this is more a manslaughter than a murder.
In case of a guilty verdict probably she will spend just a few years in prison

I think the defense has a good chance at a not-guilty verdict for murder because there is no medical proof the baby wasn't stillborn.

JMO

 

[gitana1]

Agree. Both parents reactions in the interrogation room seemed so totally *off* to me.

Cold, anger, judgement, shaming, blame.
No reactions of shock, horror or grief though.

Very odd for just learning a few moments before that your daughter had been pregnant and buried her baby, your grandchild, in your backyard.

Could it be that the parents already knew everything previously and had time to process the shock?

Were they acting the best they could in the interrogation room pretending like they didn’t know?

JMO

Possibly. I mean wouldn't you think one of their first concerns would be her health and not what the neighbors would think?

 

[proctorelites]

Wait a minute. I understood the OBGYN used a fundul height measuring tape to measure possible gestation and did NOT do an ultrasound?

 

[sweetcaro]

Plenty of teens fall pregnant and don't do what she did, regardless of brain maturity...