Judge ends probation for Ohio woman accused of killing her newborn, burying body in back yard

LEBANON, Ohio (WJW/AP) -- A young Ohio woman acquitted of killing and burying her newborn in her family's back yard has been released from a probation term she was serving for abuse of a corpse.

A judge granted Brooke Skylar Richardson's request during a court hearing Tuesday. She had served about 14 months of a three-year probation term imposed in September 2019.

Richardson had sought to have her probation terminated so she could attend law school to become a public defender. Her attorney said Richardson is taking college classes and working part time.

• TRUE CRIME DAILY: Brooke Skylar Richardson case coverage - TCD

Richardson buried her newborn daughter just days after her senior prom in 2017. She had never told anyone she was pregnant, and her defense said the baby was stillborn.

Prosecutors argued at trial that the high school cheerleader had hid her unwanted pregnancy and killed the baby so she could get on with her “perfect life.” However, medical experts who testified for both prosecution and defense agreed there was no physical proof the baby was born alive.

Richardson was acquitted of aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. She had faced up to life in prison if convicted of murder.

Brooke Skylar Richardson gave birth to a full-term baby in May 2017. She was accused of killing, burning and burying her baby just hours after birth, less than 48 hours after attending her senior prom, Warren County Prosecutor Dave Fornshell said in 2017.