Teen Moms Kill Their Babies- The Stories of Melissa Drexler and Brooke Skylar Richardson
This cases are a little short, so I decided to do two of them. These stories are very similar, but also have different outcomes. It makes me so sad that these girls decided to do an unthinkable act just because they just wanted to be teenagers.
The Melissa Drexler “Prom Mom” Case
Melissa Drexler attended high school in 1997 at Lacey Township High School in New Jersey, she was 18 at the time. On this day she was going to go to her prom with friends. The prom took place on June 6th, 1997.
Melissa
Melissa going to prom
Melissa had one problem standing in her way of being a teenager and having fun at her prom, she was pregnant. She was able to hide her pregnancy from everyone.
Once Melissa and her friends got to the banquet hall where the prom was being held, Melissa immediately went to the women’s restroom. She gave birth to a baby boy in about 20-30 minutes. She then cut the umbilical cord on a sharp corner of a metal sanitary napkin box. She told her friends to tell the others “she’d be right out.”
A maintenance worker found the bloody mess in the bathroom, and found a garbage bag that had Melissa’s dead baby boy inside. An autopsy was eventually done and it stated that Melissa had given birth to a healthy baby, and that the baby was strangled.
Trial
Melissa was charged with murder, but later on August 21st, 1998, she pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter. Melissa said:
““I knowingly took the baby out of the toilet and wrapped a series of garbage bags around the baby,” “I then placed the baby in another garbage bag and knotted it. I closed it and put it in a trash can.””
Melissa was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and it’s reported that she was very emotional at trial and apologized for what she did.
Melissa was released on parole on November 26th, 2001 after serving ab0ut 3 years.
Melissa is reportedly married now.
Sources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prom-mom-gets-15-years/
The Brooke Skylar Richardson Case
This case happened more recently, in 2017. It disgusts me, the parents disgust me, especially her mom. Her mom put pressure on her to look a certain way and Skylar, as she goes by, struggled with eating disorders and I believe she wanted to be thin and popular and this is why this happened.
Background
Brooke Skylar Richardson or Skylar was 18 years old when this happened. She lived in Carlisle, Ohio. She was a popular, enjoyed cheerleading but also struggled with an eating disorder her entire life. Her mom said Skylar would barely chew gum because she was afraid of losing weight.
Skylar went to prom a few months before her baby was born. If you look closely you can kind of see a bump.
Skylar was diagnosed with body dysmorphia, which is a disorder where your obsessed with every flaw you have. She also started dating a new boy, named Brandon, they started dating right before her senior year.
Her mom wanted her to be on the pill, because she knew she was always with her boyfriend. Skylar went to the gynecologist to get birth control, and her mom said she was crying after the appointment that day. Her mom wouldn’t find out until it was too late, but Skaylar was 8 months pregnant.
Secrets are revealed
On May 7th, police showed up at the Richardson home. They said they just wanted to talk to Skylar about “something she witnessed.”
It was reported to the police that Skylar had given birth and buried her baby in the backyard. It was reported by the OBGYN.
Skylar had gone to the OBGYN on April 27th, but came back 2 months later. The officer asked her about going back to the doctor’s and Skylar said she told her what happened. She said she had delivered a stillborn baby, but didn't kill her.
The next part is so tragic, the officer asked her what she did next, and this is a part of their conversation:
“Skylar: She just kind of came out and I tried, I tried. … I’m trying to hold her and see if she’s breathing, but she doesn’t have a heartbeat.
Lt. John Faine So now what do you do when you realize … that she’s not going to make it?
Skylar: I have to bury her. … I couldn’t tell anybody.”
She said she had gotten a shovel, and dug a hole.
Skylar named her baby Annabelle, and said that the father was her friend’s cousin. The police were there shortly after to dig up human remains.
Skylar’s parents also found out what she did, and they confronted their daughter while the cameras were rolling. Skylar kept saying over and over how sorry she was.
Autopsy
This is where the case gets weird, because a forensic anthropologist looking into this case says one thing, and later changes her story at trial.
The anthropologist’s name is Elizabeth Murray, and she first said that it looked like the baby’s bones had been burned. The police asked Skylar about this and she denied it 17 times.
The police kept asking her about it, and she later said she had a lighter and used it. The detective also asked her if she heard any gurgling noises, to see if the baby was actually alive, and Skylar says yes.
“Lt. John Faine: Did you hear anything like little gurgle sounds –
Lt. John Faine: How did you know at first, you know, that she was probably alive just a little bit?
Skylar: Well, I think she might have made a noise. … Maybe a little noise, a gurgle. ”
Arrest
Skylar was arrested on the charge of reckless endangerment. Two weeks later, she was out on bail and then re-arrested. She was now charged with aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and abuse of a corpse.
Media
Once Skylar was arrested, she was in the media all the time. She and her family were all vilified. The prosecutor said that the Richardson family was obsessed with outward appearances (which it later shows that they are, especially Kim and Skylar). Skylar was also called a self-obsessed, and entitled teenager.
Trial
Skylar at trial
One of the biggest things to come out at trial was Skylar’s text messages to her mom, pretty much talking about being thin.
“I’m literally so excited for dinner to wear something cute yayy my belly is back now I am takin this opportunity to make it amazing,” ”
““I’m literally speechless with how happy I am,” “My belly is back omg I am never ever ever evertrrr letting it grt like this again your about to see me look freaking better than before omg.””
Skylar had also not went back to the doctor for an ultrasound or bloodwork. She was also searching “how to get rid of a baby.” Her attorneys said that Skylar never killed her baby, and that her baby was stillborn.
A doctor named John White took the stand and said Annabelle (Skylar’s baby) was a stillborn, and that Skylar had only gained 15 pounds during her pregnancy due to her weight because of her eating disorder. It was also reported that Skylar had a mental disorder as well. (YA, probably from her horrible mother).
Sentencing
On September 12th, 2019 Skylar was found not guilty of aggravated murder, child endangerment or involuntary manslaughter. Skylar was convicted of abuse of a corpse because she buried her daughter in the backyard. Skylar was taken away in handcuffs.
Skylar is sentenced to 3 years probation for abuse of a corpse.
Other
In 2019, Skylar had to attend a program for eating disorders.
In this video above, I call this “trying to act,” you shiver at that but actually KILL your baby?
Sources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-the-case-against-brooke-skylar-richardson/
https://nypost.com/2019/11/18/skylar-richardson-breaks-silence-for-first-time-since-murder-trial/
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think both Melissa and Skylar should have been found guilty and did some jail time. Melissa actually strangled her baby boy, and should have been in prison longer than 3 years. We also will never know the truth about what happened to Skylar’s daughter, but she should have done some jail time. She got off too easy. I also think she has no remorse for what she did, she only cared about not going to jail.
I ALSO HATE SKYLAR’S PARENT, THERE I SAID IT. They are awful and if you watch the 48 hours, you will see it. Her mom didn't give a shit about her, and only cared about their looks and what people thought. I wonder how she feels now about her daughter.
