Judge to rule on medical testimony in buried newborn case

LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — A judge expects to rule soon on disputed medical testimony for a former high-school cheerleader’s trial on charges she killed and buried her newborn baby.

Attorneys for 19-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson want Warren County Judge Donald Oda to bar prosecutors from presenting testimony from medical staff, citing doctor-patient privilege. Judge Oda said today he expects to rule soon. The trial is scheduled to begin Monday. An appeal of his ruling could lead to a delay.

Richardson was charged with aggravated murder, corpse abuse and other counts after her baby’s remains were found last July in Carlisle, a village some 40 miles north of Cincinnati.

The prosecutor alleges Richardson buried her full-term baby near her family’s home. Defense attorneys argue the baby was stillborn and that Richardson was scared.