Ex-Cheerleader Accused of Killing & Burying Newborn Didn't Want to be Mom, Worrying Doctor: Prosecutor

A former Ohio high school cheerleader accused of killing and burning her newborn baby in 2017 before burying the child’s remains told her doctor she had no intention of having a baby and displayed concerning behavior, prosecutors alleged in court Tuesday, according to multiple news reports.

Brooke Skylar Richardson, now 19, is charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and child endangerment.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

Attorneys were in court on Tuesday for a hearing before the 12th District Court of Appeals concerning whether Richardson’s doctors should be allowed to testify in her trial, the Journal-News reports. Her attorneys have argued such testimony would violate Richardson’s privacy rights.

Assistant prosecutor Kirsten Brandt alleged in court that when Richardson found out she was pregnant, the then-18-year-old’s reaction was “extreme” and “over-the-top,” reports WLWT.

“Dr. Andrew specifically told the defendant, ‘If you have any feelings that you are going to hurt this baby, you need to let us know that immediately,'” Brandt said, according to the station.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that prosecutors alleged that Richardson did not want to be an 18-year-old single mom with college only a few months in the future. In the months after learning of her pregnancy, Richardson didn’t return for an ultrasound, bloodwork or any other treatment, while ignoring calls from the doctor and assistants, the paper reports.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Image zoom Brooke Skylar Richardson Warren County Sheriff's Office

“She does nothing to prepare for this baby coming into the world,” Brandt said.

Brand alleged in court that Richardson came in three months later and told her doctor she delivered a stillborn baby, which she buried in the backyard of her parents’ home, the Enquirer reports.

After authorities searched the property, they discovered the child’s body in a shallow grave.

RELATED VIDEO: Relatives of Former Cheer Coach Accused of Killing Newborn Say Baby Was Stillborn

Authorities initially believed the baby had been stillborn, but further investigation showed that the baby was alive at birth, David Fornshell, the prosecutor in Ohio’s Warren County, told PEOPLE last year.

After the hearing, Richardson’s attorney, Charlie H. Rittgers, spoke out to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The prosecutor is fabricating,” he told the paper in a voicemail. “It’s just not true that Skylar Richardson had no intention of having a baby.”

The three-judge panel hearing the appeal has 60 days to issue a decision, the Journal-News reports.