Cheerleader, 18, who ‘murdered her newborn baby, torched her body and buried her in her back garden’ appears in Ohio court as trial date is set

A TEEN accused of killing her baby, torching the body and then burying it in her back garden has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder.

Brooke Skylar Richardson, 18, was arrested after police made the grim discovery outside her home in Carlisle, Ohio last month.

The cheerleader sat stony faced as she entered her plea in Warren County court Lebanon, Ohio on Monday.

She has already been indicted on charges that include involuntary manslaughter, child endangering, evidence tampering and corpse abuse.

Prosecutors requested a $1 million bond, but the judge set it at $50,000. Her trial will begin on November 6.

He also ordered she be held under house arrest and that her movements are electronically monitored.

Richardson posted bond and was released later on Monday.

Richardson’s attorney, Charles M. Rittgers, said after court that Richardson “did not kill her baby.”

“We are currently waiting to receive the evidence the prosecutor claims supports the indictment,” Rittgers said, adding that the process could take several weeks.

The baby’s remains were found July 14 in Carlisle, about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell alleges Richardson gave birth to a baby that was born alive about 38 to 40 weeks into the pregnancy and that Richardson “purposely caused” the death of the baby who was then burned and buried.

Fornshell said Friday that the cause of death hasn’t been determined and may never be known, due to burning and decomposition.

The infant is believed to have been born sometime between May 6 and May 7, and was alive probably for only a few hours, according to authorities.

They have been trying to determine the infant’s sex and the father’s identity.

Richardson delivered her baby only days after attending her senior prom, according to Fornshell.

The prosecutor wouldn’t speculate on a specific motive, but has said he thinks evidence supports that Richardson was “pretty obsessed with external appearances and how she appeared to the outside world.”

Investigators believe a “significant number of people in her life” likely had a strong suspicion before the birth that she was pregnant, Fornshell has said.

He also has said that no one else was charged, but that the investigation is continuing.

Richardson is due back in court on Thursday, at which time the judge will hear arguments about a gag order he has imposed to prevent both sides from publicly discussing the case.

Before the five-day trial gets under way, three additional hearings will be held on August 25, September 27 and October 3. Judge Oda promised the trial will be open.