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| Monmouth Man Charged in 1998 Murder of Young Girl |
POSTED 2:52pm 2/24/10, UPDATED 9:16 a-m 2/25/10 Warren County authorities have made an arrest over 10 years after the death of a Monmouth infant that they believed all along was not an accident.
A statement issued by Warren County State's Attorney Albert "Chip" Algren says police arrested 56-year old Tommy Richardson without incident Wednesday afternoon on two-counts of first-degree murder for the June, 1998 death of three-year old Kayla Richardson.
Algren says the case was recently re-opened following consultation between him, Warren County Coroner William Underwood and Monmouth Police Chief Brad Ziegler, but it's not clear why, though Algren does say a number of witnesses were re-interviewed and some evidence was re-investigated. All that led to a grand jury indictment Wednesday morning.
Kayla Richardson, authorities believe, died June 29th, 1998 due to suffocation. Algren claims Tommy Richardson had stated he found the girl in bed that night with a plastic grocery bag over her head.
Officials in Algren's office would not comment on whether or not the two Richardsons were related, and Algren was not available when contacted.
Tommy Richardson is being held in the Warren County Jail on $3 million bond and is scheduled to make a court appearance Thursday morning at nine o'clock.
Algren says Richardson is not eligible for the death penalty but could face up to 60-years in prison if convicted on each murder count.
Tommy Richardson
(Photo Courtesy of the Warren County Sheriff's Department) |
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| 02 24 10 by Newsroom |
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