Prosecutors in Ohio are arguing that a former high school cheerleader’s obsession with perfection led the girl to kill and bury her infant child.
In July of 2017, law enforcement received a tip from a doctor that 18-year-old Brooke “Skylar” Richardson may have given birth to a stillborn baby.
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Officers went to the girl’s home and investigated, and ultimately discovered the charred remains of a newborn baby in the backyard of Richardson’s home.
Following their discovery, police arrested Richardson for “aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.”
The only motive that prosecutors have been able to zero in on so far is that the teen was “pretty obsessed” with perfection and a baby must not have fit into her perception of portraying a prefect appearance.
“She was described as a good girl, and I think that perception is one that Skylar wanted to perpetuate,” said Warren County, Ohio, Prosecutor David Fornshell. This statement was made in 2017 before a judge put a gag order on the case.
Richardson’s former classmates corroborate this assessment with one telling PEOPLE, “Her makeup had to be so-so. Her clothes had to be so-so, her hair had to be perfect.”
The teen definitely displayed a positive image, having worked a summer camp for children with disabilities, graduating high school with honors, and planning to study nursing at the University of Cincinnati.
At this time, the teen has not entered a plea to the charges against her. It is speculated that she will go on trial sometime in 2018.
Richardson’s lawyer has not spoken much about the case other than to say of his client, “She is a good person, a high honors student. She has never been in any trouble of any kind.”
While her attorney argues that Richardson is not responsible for the infants death, the prosecuting attorneys claim that they believe she carried the baby to term, and then buried it only mere hours after giving birth.
They also assert that this all took place in May, just days following her high school prom.
“She was showing at prom,” said a former classmate. “I didn’t realize it until people were talking about it. I looked at the pictures, and it was pretty obvious.”
