State appeals court OK’s doctor testimony in baby death case
Associated Press
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio
An Ohio appeals court has ruled that doctors can testify in the case of a former high school cheerleader charged with killing and burying her newborn baby near her family’s house.
Attorneys for Brooke Skylar Richardson wanted to bar prosecutors from presenting testimony from an obstetrics-gynecology practice’s medical staff, citing physician-patient privilege that she won’t give up.
Three 12th District Court of Appeals judges in Middletown ruled unanimously Monday that the 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 said Richardson buried the full-term baby shortly after giving birth within days after her senior prom in May 2017.
Richardson’s attorneys plan to appeal the ruling.