Another hearing canceled in Carlisle buried baby case as trial date nears

Brooke Skylar Richardson, left, arrives for a hearing today in Warren County Common Pleas Court with her parents Scott and Kimberly Richardson. The teen is charged with aggravated murder and other felonies for allegedly killing her infant and burying it in the back yard. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Brooke Skylar Richardson, left, arrives for a hearing today in Warren County Common Pleas Court with her parents Scott and Kimberly Richardson. The teen is charged with aggravated murder and other felonies for allegedly killing her infant and burying it in the back yard. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

A scheduled pre-trial hearing for Brooke Richardson, a Carlisle teen accused of killing her baby and then burying it in the backyard, did not happen on Wednesday.

Attorneys met in Warren County Common Pleas Judge Donald Oda II’s courtroom for 45 minutes before the bailiff said there would be no hearing in the courtroom.

MORE: Defense: ‘Burned baby’ statements may have tainted jury pool in baby case

The next scheduled court hearing is April 9, and the trial is scheduled to begin April 16.

On March 15, Richardson’s defense team filed a motion to request the jury be permitted to view two locations during trial.

Richardson, 18, is charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and child endangering for the May 2017 death of her infant daughter, whom defense attorneys say she named Annabelle.

MORE: Prosecutor calls defense arguments ‘misleading at best’ in Carlisle buried baby case

Attorneys Charles H. and Charles M. Rittgers have requested the jury view the Richardson home at 104 Eagle Ridge Drive and the Carlisle Police interrogation room.

Oda has not ruled on the motion.

On March 5, the defense team filed a motion to exclude Richardson’s comments at the Carlisle Police Station outside the presence of officers.

After a 60-minute meeting in chambers with attorneys on March 14, Oda said the defense intended to withdraw its motion to suppress those statements.

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