The Case Against Brooke Skylar Richardson | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] investigators were tipped off about the possible remains buried in the back of
this house here behind me brook skylar richardson had a promising future the prosecutor says she gave
birth in the family home and then killed her baby the 18 year old is there a way to describe this past year the
worst nightmare purgatory every day the carlisle teen is charged with killing her newborn baby i can tell you
that brooke skylar richardson did not kill her baby i don't know when it hit me but it was
i was a grandmother and i never had any of the benefits of it our lives have been completely turned
upside down what was the reaction to this story how big did this become i felt like
super bowl level it was like the world stopped everyone wanted to know what was going
on in our backyard and what had happened the sidewalk was lined with people sitting in lawn chairs oh you're serious
right out here [Music] we have no privacy we're followed stopped facebook to me turned into hate book
i did not know she was pregnant here's her track photo this was track season in april
and you can't tell i mean we missed everything we missed everything [Music] we thought we were doing the right thing
by cooperating how did you gonna try and kill my baby it turned out to be the absolute wrong thing she faces charges
of aggravated murder involuntary manslaughter endangering children are you scared i'm very scared i mean we're
we're scared to death talking to you because we don't want things to come across
wrong [Music] this is the case of the state of ohio versus brook skylar richardson
the defendant brooke richardson murdered a baby that she didn't want and never intended to keep
this case is about a rush to judgment chad is stillborn and she made a poor choice after that
not telling you not telling anyone and burying the baby what has been advised that we have a
verdict are we ready for the jury yes sir the defendant please rise what's your biggest fear at this point
guilty conviction [Music] um [Music] this is the case of the state of ohio versus brook schuyler richardson case
number 2007. nothing has polarized ohio's warren county more than the trial of brook skyler richardson
do you feel that schuyler's ever gotten the presumption of innocence no absolutely not
now 20 years old brooke known as skylar is accused of killing her newborn daughter
if convicted she could spend the rest of her life in prison it's just changed our lives forever
for more than a year skyler's parents kim and scott richardson gave us unique access to their story but on the advice
of their lawyers skyler couldn't talk to us it's so hard to be living like this thinking
but what if a lot of what-ifs a lot of what-ifs in 2017 the richardsons were living the
good life in carlisle ohio population 5 000. it's mayberry small town usa i mean it's
so small town most people don't leave their kids excelled in school and sports son jackson plays on the football team
skyler was a cheerleader but behind the smiling photographs the family was struggling with a serious
issue skyler's eating disorder how much do you think her weight and eating ruled her life
oh 95 percent that is her life this is her at a very scary point oh my gosh kim says she first noticed a problem
when her cheerleader daughter was in the sixth grade 12 years old she wouldn't buy gum
because it had five calories i didn't even know gum had calories she was so tiny she was a perfect flyer
you do a stunt in the air or you hold a very difficult stretching pose for you know a few seconds
and then come back down to the ground but it also meant she had to be easy to lift and catch
kim says it was the beginning of skyler's battle with her weight how would she lose the weight
she would throw up and when cheerleading was over for the season skylar would binge then starve again
did you get afraid to even talk about her absolutely she she definitely would shut down if you mentioned it to
her the richardson say they tried everything doctors therapists nutritionists was diagnosed with body dysmorphia a
mental disorder involving an obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance nothing helped
she's very guarded keep a lot of secrets yes so many and we don't know what they are
and i don't know that we ever will in late july 2016 the summer before her senior year
skylar began dating a friend's cousin the relationship ended quickly and by january 2017
skyler had a new boyfriend a high school junior named brandon why did those two click
what is it i don't know cause she's this tall and he's that tall skyler was happy she even seemed to be
putting on some weight kim and scott hoped their daughter's eating disorder was finally under
control we were actually pleased that she was finally gaining some weight she looked healthy
a month later she eagerly picked out her prom dress and it was a tight-fitting dress that she needed to be laced up in
and then in late march skylar went on vacation with her family she wore a two-piece
i told her she looked great i mean for the first time in my life i thought she's healthy she's in a healthy
relationship she really cares about brandon i could tell that she did kim knew skyler's relationship with
brandon was heating up that's why i wanted her to be on the pill so in late april skyler went to her
mother's gynecologist to get a prescription for birth control she had just turned 18
so kim waited outside she came out she had clearly been crying did you ask her why she was crying it
was traumatic she goes your first appointment is and i'm like yeah it is as a female
the real reason for the tears the doctor had told skyler she was pregnant eight months she asked him not to tell anyone
she never said anything to either one of you about what the doctor told her no nine days later on may 5th skyler and
brandon went to the prom despite being late into her pregnancy she fit into her gown
she's wearing the same dress that she had tried on in february purchased february 15th
i have side by side put the pictures together and i look at the pictures and i'm like
they're almost identical they're identical but less than 48 hours later in the early morning hours of may 7th
something happened that turned the richardson's life upside down it remained skyler's secret for more
than two months when police suddenly showed up at the richardson's home and they said hey we just need to talk
to your daughter about something she may have witnessed she's not in any trouble we just need to
talk to her taking them at their word scott drove his daughter to the police station
i mean honestly i can look back that's the biggest mistake i've made in my entire life
[Music] [Music] on july 14 2017 when scott richardson drove his daughter skyler to the carlisle police station
he had no idea that she had been keeping a secret if she's going in to talk to the police
do you know what it's about no i have no idea lieutenant john fain who at the time was
with the warren county sheriff's office wanted to question 18 year old skylar about a call they'd received there's an
allegation from an ob gyn office that a patient there had delivered a baby at home subsequently buried her in her
backyard skyler was put in an interrogation room her father wasn't allowed in with her
you have the right to remain silent as fain read skylar her rights and then began pressing her a camera was
recording everything we got a call from the doctor's office okay and according to them on april 26
you found out you were pregnant remember that was the same day skyla went to see
the gynecologist about getting birth control pills more than two months later she returned you went back to that
doctor's office and i told her what had happened that i had to have a baby and it wasn't
alive i didn't kill skylar told investigators that in the early morning hours of may 7
2017 she gave birth to a stillborn baby in her bathroom she just kind of came out my train i
tried i tried over and she's reading she didn't have a heartbeat so now what do you do when you realize
that she's not gonna make it i have to bury her i couldn't tell anybody without waking
anyone skyler said she silently walked downstairs got a small garden trowel and then dug a shallow grave in her
backyard i did not try and kill my baby after about 45 minutes of questioning lieutenant vayne told skyler's anxious
parents the real reason he brought in their daughter shock i couldn't feel my body
i could not get up how could that happen i've seen her every day i look at her i talked to her
i hug her thane then gave the richardson some time alone with their daughter never mentioning that the camera was
rolling and capturing this deeply personal moment [Music] skylar told her parents that she named
her baby annabelle and that the baby's father was that friend's cousin she dated very briefly
before brandon i can't imagine the pain it breaks my heart to think about her laying in bed being scared not
being able to come down and tell me what had just happened with the richardson still at the police
station coming to terms with their new reality investigators descended on their home in
search of human remains soon skyler's once closely held secret investigators were tipped off about
was shared with everyone in town buried in the back of this house after more than five hours skylar and her
parents were allowed to go home [Music] but six days later lieutenant fang called asking skylar to come in again i
was told she's not in any trouble it's not a life-changing situation this time fame was accompanied by detective brandi
carter and they had new damaging information from the coroner's office we know there's some more that happened
than what you shared the other day okay dr elizabeth murray a forensic anthropologist who analyzed the remains
reported there was evidence that the baby's bones may have been burned so she was under the belief that the baby had
been set on fire what was your reaction when you heard that i was surprised fame began to think skylar must be lying
about everything and was determined to get her to admit to killing the baby and then burning the remains in order to
hide the evidence there's some evidence to show that there was some some burning on her
a total of 17 times any reason for any of that no in your head you're thinking this young woman is lying to me yes
because they had told us certainly with scientific certainty there was the fire maybe it just was one of those things
where you just thought like a cremation like i'm gonna i'm gonna have some actions that i can keep of my daughter
suddenly skyler changed her story tell me everything that you were thinking and everything you did
it didn't stop there did you hear anything like little gurgle sounds skyler also made the startling admission
that the baby might have been born alive how did you know at first you know that
she was probably alive just a little bit well i said she might have a noise maybe a little noise a girl
when she said that she might have heard a gurgle the gurgle came from you guys first right that word yes i said that
word first at the end of that hour-long interrogation detectives had enough to arrest the 18 year old on a charge of
reckless homicide their theory was that she had suffocated the baby [Music] a distraught skyler told her parents
what she told police brooke richardson is in the warren county jail tonight skylar made bail
just two weeks later the case was presented to a grand jury who indicted her on a new devastating
set of charges skylar was arrested again warren county prosecutor david fornshell
count one of that indictment is for aggravated murder aggravated murder a charge that carries a mandatory life
sentence in ohio the other charges involuntary manslaughter endangering children and
abuse of a corpse fornshell left no doubt that he had the evidence the general allegations against her are
that she did give birth to a newborn infant she caused the death of that infant burned the infant
and buried the infant the motive says fornshell a baby wouldn't fit into skyler's life
skyler and her family were pretty obsessed with external appearances you're describing a spoiled
self-entitled teenager who was more worried about vanity than keeping the life of a baby alive
those are your words there's no way she way i would stake my life on it despite skyler's incriminating
statements kim and scott say they intend to prove skyler is innocent with the help of these two
attorneys the prosecutor was trying to say that skylar richardson was a cold-blooded killer
and it's quite a leap once all the evidence is [Music] skyler richardson in handcuffs entered a
plea of not guilty during her arraignment on five charges including aggravated murder
skylar spent the weekend in jail until her family could come up with a 50 thousand dollar bond it was a surreal
experience for her parents it was her physically but when you looked at her just
she was had checked out skyler emerged into a tabloid firestorm shortly after that
following the prosecutor's sensational press conference the court imposed a gag order but the damage had already been
done we know a lot more tonight about the carlyle teen mom now accused of the horrific crime of killing her newborn
and then burning the baby's body on social media skyler and her family were vilified
in some ways is this like kind of the modern salem witch trials yes very every move we make everything we do
we're judged we're followed stalked we were crucified and that's putting it mildly
outside the warren county courthouse today protesters stood with signs calling for justice for baby carlisle
justice for your baby what are your baby's voice they would take turns sitting out in
front of our house and they would set up a schedule to watch our comings and goings i would
see pictures of myself out on my back deck there were threats and a constant drum beat of vitriol
it became difficult for the family to even leave the house people would claim to know us they would
take any picture that they could find of skyler and they would paste pictures of
baby's faces in it and they found a picture of her with a shovel and they posted some little
baby's face in it prominent local defense attorneys charlie m rickers and his father charlie
h say this is a case of a false confession i can tell you that brook skylar richardson did not
kill her baby and then as both sides prepared for trial dr elizabeth murray the forensic anthropologist who reported
the remains were burned retracted her initial assessment after taking another look at the bones she now said they
showed no sign whatsoever of incineration or burning and now every doctor in the case
including the state's own doctor uh agree that that was a false opinion and yet nothing changed in the
prosecutor's approach because in the interrogation skylar admitted that she tried to cremate the
remains fornshell refuses to back down or correct the record part of the reason why i think the
indictment was so severe is because the first anthropologist in this case came to an opinion that she has now retracted
but has that affected the way people see this case absolutely the jury pool's been tainted
and now this poor girl our client skyler who was 18 years old at the time is facing life in prison
skyler was fitted with an ankle bracelet and placed under house arrest she spent
much of her time reading books and hanging out with her dogs in the backyard under a pine tree her
parents placed an angel ornament to mark the spot where skylar once buried the baby she called annabelle
she did what she thought she needed to do maybe outside looking in that was wrong but in her mind she just delivered
a stillborn baby she gently laid the baby down in the ground she didn't have a casket
she buried the baby and laid a flower over top of it she put a vase as a marker you can see it from her window
as 12 months passed skyler's plans to attend the university of cincinnati were put on hold she can't get a job she
can't go to school the defense filed a motion to move the trial to a different county but the
request was denied they've not listened to anything that charlie and the team have put together
and taking them into consideration it's just all very cold and hard [Music] then in july 2019 the state approached
schuyler's lawyers with an unexpected offer the prosecutor told charlie i will take aggravated
murder off if you plea to the rest of them which still could have been 15 years faced with the possibility of life
without parole the richardsons knew they had a terrible dilemma but in the end the decision was skyler's
to make it was a sunday morning and she woke up and i can still see her sitting on the couch and she goes
i'm not going to play to something that i didn't do and in my heart i got sick but i it has to be her
decision end of day she has to live with this that's gotta be though weighing on both of you the idea that
whether she goes to prison for the rest of her life is in your hands it's quite a burden
there's no way that she would harm her baby no way on september 3rd 2019 despite concerns of a tainted jury pool
a 12-person jury is seated after a single day of war dear assistant prosecuting attorney stephen
knippen delivered his opening statement with a jaw-dropping quote from a text that skylar richardson sent to her mom
i'm literally speechless with how happy i am my belly is back omg and i'm never ever
ever ever letting it get like this again those are the words that brooke richardson texted to her mother
just hours after she murdered her infant daughter in the middle of the night and buried her lifeless body in the dirt
behind their home with the possibility that skyler's own words will be our undoing
her family wondered if they made a tragic mistake by not accepting the deal they were offered
but does that scare the two of you absolutely she did ask me am i doing the right
thing [Music] [Music] so [Music] for more than two years skylar richardson and her family have been
bracing for her trial i wake up in the morning thank god each day it's another day i at
least get to see her and touch her the stress and uncertainty have taken a toll schuyler still battling an eating
disorder is virtually wasting away how's skyler not good she's about 90 pounds she wears kids
clothes she has no clothes for court everything we have to pin everything on her kind of
like sewer in her clothes but what doctors say is an illness the state characterizes as vanity
prosecutor stephen kinnipping quotes from a tech schuyler center mom just hours after giving birth
you're about to see me looking freaking better than before omg and there's this selfie that skyler took
at the gym that same afternoon her actions and her statements demonstrate that she had no intention
of having this baby prosecutors admit they cannot prove the baby was born alive but knipin tells the
jury that skylar herself admitted it during this interview brooke admitted the following she saw her daughter's
arms moving a little heard her gurgle and heard her cry she also told investigators that she
might have held her baby quote too tight and that's not all she attempted to burn the baby after her
death in an effort to cremate her but defense attorney charlie m ricker says skylar just told the police what
they wanted to hear we know that the police were able to break her down and make her vulnerable and admit
to something that is scientifically impossible burning of a baby this doctor many weeks later said i was
wrong they disregarded any truth and they said well skyler said it we'll just keep going
we'll just keep moving forward the state calls dr susan brown the assistant warren county coroner who
performed the autopsy on the baby's remains do you have an opinion as to the cause
of baby richardson's death yes homicidal violence of undetermined etiology but when cross-examined by the defense
dr brown concedes there's no physical evidence that skyler killed her baby or that the baby was even born alive
you cannot tell us to any reasonable degree of scientific certainty that annabelle was born alive is that correct
based on just the autopsy examination alone i cannot determine whether it was a live
birth in fact under cross-examination witness after witness called by the state concede there is no physical
evidence of a live birth or any trauma or burning of the baby's bones the only evidence comes from skylar
[Music] so if skyler is convicted she could be convicted on what she said rather than
what she did exactly did you hear her cry [Music] but why would skylar kill her own child
prosecutors say she never wanted the baby and they point to text messages she sent her mother in the days leading up
to prom as skyler's biggest concern seemed to be fitting into her dress skyler i'm just in freak out mode i want
to look amazing again more than anything i hate being like this so much and there
are those texts skyler sent after giving birth i am literally so excited now just for dinner to wear
something cute yay my belly is back but when the defense begins its case obstetrician dr john white takes the
stand and tells the jury he believes the baby was not alive at birth she delivered a stillbirth infant
in the bathroom skyler told investigators that she never cut an umbilical cord suggesting to dr
white that the cord may have become detached sometime before or during birth he also says skyler's description of the
baby's appearance is significant she described annabelle's appearance as being really white
and in my experience when you deliver a healthy newborn they're almost purple dr white points out that skylar
only gained 15 pounds during the course of her pregnancy here she is at three months and again at seven and a half
months and then again in may less than two days before giving birth according to dr white
skyler's eating disorder may have restricted the baby's development in the womb fetal growth restriction increases the
risks of intrauterine demise or neonatal death later an expert on police interviews
explains to the jury how certain police tactics can result in false confessions and certain people are more susceptible
says clinical psychologist dr stuart bassman who spent hours interviewing skyler it is my opinion
that skylar richardson suffers from a mental disorder that predisposes her to comply to people in authority
what stands out to me about what transpired in the interrogation was a clear sense
of intimidating attempting to convince skyler to implant a memory that would incriminate
her but lieutenant john fein says that's not what happened i don't feel that there was something so
powerful or this strong coercion that people are alluding to that's going to get someone to admit to do
yeah but changed it didn't happen you're two authority figures she's in a closed
room she doesn't have an attorney she doesn't have her parents how do you know the baby was alive just a little bit the
annabelle was alive a little bit i saw her maybe a little bit moving you don't think it's possible that she
might have just said that because it would please you you don't think that i don't think any answers that she gave in
that interrogation any answer was with the goal of pleasing us no i do not think that
a week after the trial started without schuyler ever taking the stand the prosecution and the defense make their
final appeals to the jury assistant prosecutor julie kraft unwanted that's what brooke richardson's daughter
was unwanted to outside observers brooke richardson had the perfect life she grew up in a small town
she was a cheerleader for the high school football team she obsessed over her appearance
and she was determined to maintain that perfect life at all costs first instruction you and we've heard a
lot about it is burden of proof the defendant is presumed innocent until guilt is established beyond a
reasonable doubt and it's their burden it's the prosecutor's burden if you have a reason to doubt the live
birth you have to fight for scotland after all the turmoil and high-stakes drama the case is now in the hands of
jurors four hours later they reach a verdict are we ready for the jury yes the defendant please rise
with regard to count one we the jury in the above caption case find the defendant
on september 12 2019 skyler waits for the jury of seven women and five men to decide her future
it's completely out of your control at that point we just did no and that's the scariest thing
would the jury believe skylar confessed to a murder or would they think she had been pushed
into making false statements [Music] what's the biggest fear right now that we can't prove that she's innocent too
i mean that's the hardest thing no one expects a quick verdict but then just four hours later
kim and scott richardson returned to judge oda's pack courtroom with their daughter skylar i almost had to
hold her up to walk back because she was a nervous wreck i wasn't even sure what to say i mean
it's hard to say honey is going to be okay when you don't know [Music] all right ma'am has the jury reached a
verdict in the case we have i can see the juror with the envelope and i'm like thinking that's my daughter's life and
i mean i am just praying not guilty not guilty not guilty we the jury in the above caption case
find the defendant brook skyler richardson not guilty of the of aggravated murder
not guilty of aggravated murder not guilty of involuntary manslaughter not guilty of child endangerment
skyler so stoic at trial is overwhelmed i just wanted to fall to my knees she did the right thing by not taking
the plea i just wanted to be like you were right we felt free [Music] but because skyler buried annabelle in
the backyard she is convicted of gross abuse of a corpse that felony carries up to a year in
prison the judge orders skylar held in jail until sentencing her parents watch in shock
as skyler is led away in handcuffs following the verdict district attorney david fornshell denied that he pursued a
case with insufficient evidence brooke richardson created the situation that prevented us from being able to conduct
an autopsy on that baby girl and in a sense it feels like that that she's been rewarded
[Music] do you think you are owed an apology by the d.a honestly i don't care if i ever
see him again in my life it's pretty clear at this point they didn't make the right decision
and they it was almost like they were incapable of admitting they made a mistake
do you think the jurors by this verdict were obviously able to discount what skyler said in both
interrogations we knew that most people think well i would never admit to something i
didn't do and i think our jury at least got to hear a little bit about false confessions that helped them decide this
case [Music] one day after the verdict skyler is back in court for sentencing is there anything that you want to tell
me before i impose a sentence thank you your honor and for the first time she publicly speaks
and i just wanted to say how sorry i was i can sometimes be selfish but i would like to think that i've become better in
the knowledge that i've upset everyone and hurt so many people with what i've done
and i'm forever sorry and i'm i'm so sorry i i'm really really sorry and i understand
and thank you seemingly unmoved judge oda delivers a stern message i firmly believe ms richardson in fact i
know in my heart that if you would have made different decisions in this case annabelle would
be here today but i think that your choices before birth during birth and after show a grotesque
disregard for life skyler is sentenced to three years of probation a far cry from life in prison
[Music] what does this now mean for the family it's a relief that it's over they now
know that they don't have to worry about losing their daughter now they can plan
for the future before she will tell you i had nothing to live for nothing she was too scared to look out for too
scared too scared to dream is she gonna sneak you some ham and sister tell me who you see now thank you
she's grown up a lot she's got a resiliency some inner strength that you know i mean
you always hope it's there just gotta let it come out she's a great kid and hopefully
she's gonna bounce back from this i think she will in september 2019 skyler entered into an
eating disorder treatment program it's a lifelong illness she'll have this all of her life
but we can do this but kim and scott richardson will also have to grapple with the mistakes they
made and lives that will never be quite the same dude you come out here a lot yeah i do to visit
the angel still marks the site where annabelle once was it's heartbreaking but this is all we
have sometimes i just need to feel close to her and i always tell her that you know
she's loved and she would have been loved and she's always in our hearts [Music]
[Music] right now it seems as if everything is unpredictable we're all stuck at home
and like you i'm feeling a bit helpless right now but i want you to know we are here for
you all working together you are not alone that's right because we're all in this and we're all
in this together [Music]

The parents of Brooke Skylar Richardson speak out -- the real story behind the international headlines in the case of an alleged unthinkable crime. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Brooke Skylar Richardson was acquitted of murder but convicted of abuse of a corpse after her baby's remains were found in her backyard.

Key points

Brooke Skylar Richardson's Charges. The 18-year-old faces charges of killing her newborn baby, igniting a media frenzy.
The Secret Unveiled. Skylar's secret about her pregnancy and stillbirth is revealed during police questioning.
Trial Begins Amidst Controversy. Skylar's trial begins with a jury seated despite concerns of bias.
The Verdict is In. Skyler learns her fate as the jury delivers their verdict after a tense wait.
Skyler's Emotional Apology. Skyler publicly expresses her sorrow for her actions during sentencing.
Skyler's Sentencing. Despite being found not guilty of murder, Skyler is convicted of gross abuse of a corpse.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I did not kill my baby.

0:48WatchJul 29, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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