Doctor says young woman in murder trial said she buried baby

LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — A doctor says a 20-year-old Ohio woman being tried for murder in the death of her newborn when she was in high school told the doctor she buried the baby when asked what happened with the pregnancy.

Dr. Casey Boyce testified Wednesday that Brooke Skylar Richardson sought a refill for birth control pills in July 2017, a few months after another doctor in the practice informed her that she was pregnant.

Dr. William Andrew testified earlier that Richardson became upset in April 2017 when told she was pregnant, exclaiming: “I can’t have a baby.”

She had the baby in May. Defense attorneys say it was stillborn.

Boyce testified that when she questioned Richardson in July, she cried and said she’d had the baby by herself and “buried it in my backyard.”

Richardson is accused of aggravated murder and four other felonies.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Dr. Boyce is female, not male. The story’s writer should be Janice Hisle, not Janice Morse.