Carlisle buried baby case: What both sides are saying

Brooke Skylar Richardson, the Carlisle teen charged with aggravated murder and other felonies for allegedly killing her newborn baby and burning the child’s body posted 10 percent of her $50,000 bond Monday and is out of Warren County Jail.

Richardson, 18, was arraigned Monday in Warren County Common Pleas Court on charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

Here’s what Richardson’s attorney and the Warren County prosecutor have told us about the case:

FROM THE DEFENSE

  • Defense attorney Charlie M. Rittgers entered a not guilty plea Monday on Richardson's behalf. Richardson, who graduated from Carlisle High School in May, is accused of giving birth to a baby just days after her prom, killing it, burning the body and burying it in the backyard of her home on Eagle Ridge Drive.

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  • Rittgers was clear Monday: "I can tell you Brooke Skylar Richardson did not kill her baby," he said.
  • He said the defense has filed motions for a bill of particulars of the indicted charges and evidence in the case.
  • Rittgers said he anticipates the defense will have its own experts examine the remains of the infant.
  • Richardson's family attended Monday's short hearing but left without comment.

FROM THE PROSECUTOR

  • Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said that two days after the Carlisle High School prom, sometime between May 6 and May 7, Richardson gave birth to the newborn and caused the child's death. She reportedly burned the infant and then buried it in her backyard, Fornshell said.
  • According to Fornshell, everything occurred over a period of a few hours after the baby was born. He said the baby was born at about 38 weeks to 40 weeks — full term. Carlisle police were notified July 14 by Richardson's OB-GYN's office about a possible stillborn baby, Fornshell said.
  • Fornshell would not say how long the baby was alive before it was killed. "We may never know the medical cause of the baby's death," he said.

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  • Fornshell declined to say what the sex of the baby was.
  • "The matter is under investigation currently. It is an open and active investigation so I am not going to make any comments on what someone else may have done, what they knew, when the knew it," Fornshell said.

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