Brooke Richardson: 5 Things To Know About Cheerleader, 20, Charged With Murdering Her Newborn

Brooke Skylar Richardsons trial commenced on Sept. 3, following speculation on whether or not she killed her newborn. Heres what you should know as you follow the trial.

Following multiple delays, Brooke Skylar Richardson, 20, finally begun her trial on Sept. 3. Thats two years after she was accused of killing her newborn baby, Annabelle, and burying the body in the backyard of her parents home just days after her high school prom. The former cheerleader was charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, which she has pleaded not guilty to — Brooke has always claimed the baby was a stillborn. The charges are serious, and could even land Brooke with a life sentence if shes found guilty. Heres what else you need to know about the trial that is now gripping America and Brookes suburban neighborhood in Ohio.

1. Brooke was arrested in 2017 after police allegedly found the “charred remains” of the teenagers newborn baby. In July of 2017, Brookes doctor informed police that the recent high school graduate — who was 18 at the time — may have given birth to a stillborn baby, according to People magazine. She had reportedly refused to return calls from her doctor after learning about the pregnancy, according to prosecutors. The doctors tip led to a search in her parents backyard, where authorities found the alleged “charred remains” of the baby and Brooke was arrested on charges of aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. Brooke herself had showed cops “the shovel shed used to dig a hole” and “pointed to the grave site between two trees in her parents back yard,” according to a long profile in Cosmopolitan magazine published in March 2018.

2. Brookes defense is that the newborn was allegedly a stillborn. The former cheerleaders family reported that Brooke had given birth to a stillborn in her bathroom on May 7, 2017, nearly two days after attending prom (she even wore a figure-hugging dress for the occasion). Brooke allegedly “waited for hours for any sign of life” from the newborn before the burial, according to her family, which Teen Vogue reported in a Feb. 2019 profile. In August of 2019, Brookes attorneys even filed for a motion to drop all of the charges after it became unclear if the newborns body was actually burned. The newborns exact cause of death remains a mystery.

3. No one, save for Brooke and her doctor, knew about the pregnancy. She was otherwise known as a model student. Brooke had battled eating disorders leading up to the pregnancy, so her family was actually happy to see the teen put on weight, according to the Cosmopolitan magazine profile. “You have a situation where, you know, shes a cute hi