LEBANON - Brooke Skylar Richardson sobbed.

After what her lawyers described as a two-year "nightmare," she was found not guilty on Thursday of the most serious charges against her.

A sheriff's deputy handcuffed Richardson and led her out of the courtroom. She walked past the investigator who had interrogated her more than two years ago - an interrogation that would be key to the nationally watched case that would follow.

She was going to jail, but only for a night. Her lawyers don't expect her to serve any jail time.

Richardson, 20,was accused of deliberately killing her newborn child in 2017 and burying the girl in her backyard. After little more than four hours of deliberation, a jury cleared her of that.

Neither Richardson nor her family spoke to reporters while leaving the courthouse.

Her attorneys said she had a stillbirth when she was 18 and didn't know what else to do except bury the child.

Richardson had been charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. She was facing the potential of life in prison.

A judge dismissed the tampering with evidence charge earlier this week. A jury found her not guilty of all the charges except for gross abuse of a corpse, the lowest level of felony in Ohio.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Friday morning.

After the verdict, Richardson's attorneys told reporters they don't expect her to serve any jail time.

"She was living under a dark cloud for the past two years, frankly a nightmare," Charlie H. Rittgers said.

He also raised his voice, calling the national news coverage of the case "bull----."

"I'm emotionally raw right now," Rittgers said. "I'm so pissed off she was charged."

The attorney's wife signaled to him through a crowd of television cameras and reporters with microphones. She wanted him to calm down.

Near the beginning of the trial, Rittgers missed a day of testimony because of a heart issue, his son said.

Richardson could walk away from this trial Friday. Her gross abuse of a corpse conviction could be sealed after three years, but her lawyers said there is concern she will never be able to get away from this due to the media attention.

Lawyer Charles M. Rittgers, the son of Charles H., said he's learned Richardson has a "kind soul" after she took a job with his firm. He said she plans to continue school.

"She can work at our office as long as she wants," he said.

Prosecutor: 'I’m not going to apologize'

The Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell told the press he still believes Richardson took her daughter's life.

When he was asked if he thought he owned Richardson an apology for publicizing allegations she burned her baby when an expert later recanted her opinion, Fornshell said, "I'm not going to apologize."

He faced numerous questions about whether he overcharged Richardson.

"We owed it to that little girl," he said in the press conference after the trial. "It had to be tried."

He said the case was "extraordinarily difficult case." Fornshell said his team was ultimately unable to prove a medical cause of death.

“That probably played a major factor in the outcome we saw today,” he said.

A cheerleader finds herself pregnant

Richardson's trial began on Sept. 3. But what she saw as her nightmare really began in 2017.

The 18-year-old cheerleader was in love with her boyfriend and planning to go the University of Cincinnati in the fall. Then, she found out she was pregnant.

And her boyfriend wasn't the father.

Prosecutors said her perfect life was in jeopardy. So she did whatever she could to keep it a secret.

For almost two weeks, jurors heard conflicting testimony, shocking texts and a disputed confession.

Jurors had to decide whether Richardson was a naive, scared and easily manipulated young woman who had a stillbirth and was coerced into confessing to murder – or someone who killed her child because she was obsessed with external appearances.

"Unwanted," said Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Julie Kraft during closing arguments on Thursday. "That's what Brooke Richardson's daughter was."

Richardson's attorneys said her confession to police was coerced. They said investigators relied on scientific evidence that was proven false to bully Richardson.

Initially, a forensic pathologist told authorities the baby was burned. The pathologist later recanted that opinion. Everyone who testified during the trial agreed there was no physical evidence the baby was burned.

Richardson told police she tried to cremate her child with a lighter.

"It's impossible," said Charlie M. Rittgers before jurors began deliberating.

During closing arguments, Rittgers told jurors about his own wife's pregnancy. He said he was scared and didn't know what the child was supposed to look like – and he wasn't 18.

And he didn't suffer from an eating disorder like Richardson did.

'A child she tossed in the dirt'

During the trial, a psychologist testified Richardson was sexually abused when she was 12 by a boy she looked up to. This contributed to a "personality disorder" in which she lived to please people and was terrified of rejection.

After meals, her friends and classmates testified she would stack plates and silverware. Then, she would grab a napkin and wipe the table clean.

And if her food came out wrong, Richardson wouldn't tell anyone. She didn't want to cause problems.

Her attorneys said this is why she confessed to a crime she didn't commit.

Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Steve Knippen said Richardson never wanted to have a child. He used text messages to make his final pitch to jurors.

"My belly is back," Knippen told jurors on Thursday, referencing a text Richardson sent on the day she buried her child. "That belly was her child. That belly was her daughter with fingers and toes and hair on her head. A child she tossed in the dirt."

When investigators recovered the child, buried near the treeline and marked with a flower pot Richardson could see from her window, there was nothing left but bones.

Prosecutors called it the perfect crime. Her attorneys called it a botched investigation into a troubled teen.

In her police interview, Richardson told police what they wanted to hear, her attorney said. They said things and she repeated them, all while a female detective held her hand.

They told Richardson she wasn't in trouble. But they told her they knew she wasn't telling them everything.

They told Richardson the child, whom she named Annabelle, was being poked and prodded by doctors. They knew her family wanted to have a proper burial.

And they told Richardson she needed to tell the truth if she ever wanted to get her child back.

"Annabelle has never been returned to her family," Rittgers said in court.

After the verdict, standing in the hallway, Rittgers smiled. He said the family had already bought a burial plot for Annabelle.

He said he was hopeful Richardson would now get her back.

However, Fornshell said the remains might not go back to the Richardson family.

"There's a father involved here," the prosecutor said clarifying that the father is not charged with gross abuse of a corpse.

Fornshell said he expects the father's family to present a victim impact statement at sentencing Friday.

Sonia Chopra contributed.