Young Ohio mom cleared of killing her newborn faces time on lesser charge
LEBANON, Ohio -- A jury in Ohio Thursday acquitted 20-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson on three out of four counts in the 2017 death of her newborn child, WKRC reports.
Richardson broke down in court as the judge read the verdict.
She was found not guilty of the most serious charges: aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.
The jury found Richardson guilty of abuse of a corpse.
Prosecutors argued Richardson hid her pregnancy in 2017, gave birth alone in secret in her family's home then killed and buried her newborn.
Richardson's attorneys argued the baby girl was still-born and that their client kept it all a secret because she was afraid.
Investigators found skeletal remains when Richardson led them to the burial site, and no cause of death was established.
Her sentencing is set for Friday afternoon.