Defense in baby death case appeals to state Supreme Court

MIDDLETOWN (AP)

Attorneys for a former high school cheerleader charged with killing and burying her newborn baby want Ohio’s Supreme Court to hear an appeal over testimony by doctors in the case.

Attorneys for 19-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson recently asked the high court to hear their appeal of a district court’s ruling that prosecutors can present testimony from an obstetrics-gynecology practice’s medical staff.

The defense argues doctors shouldn’t be allowed to testify, citing physician-patient privilege.

The appeals court ruled that public interest in detecting crimes to protect society outweighed doctor-patient privilege in this case.

Authorities first learned of the baby from a doctor.

Prosecutors have 30 days to respond before the Supreme Court decides if it has jurisdiction to take the case.

Richardson’s trial is on hold in southwestern Ohio’s Warren County.