"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here today because the defendant Brooke Richardson murdered a baby she didn't want and never intended to keep."
That was the way Assistant Prosecutor Steve Knippen started his opening statement to the jury in the trial of a young mother accused in the Aggravated Murder of her newborn baby in Warren County. Knippen told jurors that they have proof Richardson went on the internet to search for ways to get rid of a baby and never told anyone she was pregnant. The prosecution claims Richardson killed her baby and then buried the body in the backyard and they claim they have proof that Richardson was relieved afterwards, texting her mom "I'm literally speechless with how happy I am."
The defense maintains that the baby was stillborn and that Richardson did not cause the death of the infant. They say she buried her child and marked the spot with flowers so she could see the grave out her bedroom window. The attorney for Richardson says police made a rush to judgement in this case and coerced her into making a confession.
Testimony is now beginning with the entire trial expected to take about two weeks.