A Nebraska woman was sentenced on Thursday to three months in jail for disposing of a fetus after an illegal abortion.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police began investigating Celeste Burgess, 19, in June 2022 — before the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is a state issue. At that time, Burgess lived in a state where abortions were barred at 20 weeks.
Burgess, who was 17 at the time, was 29 weeks pregnant when she took abortion pills. A “friend” reportedly turned her in when she saw the girl take the pill, an affidavit said.
In Facebook messages handed over to investigators by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, she and her mother, Jessica Burgess, 42, discussed medications that would induce an abortion. They also talked about burning the remains afterward, according to KETV.
Celeste Burgess later burned her fetus in a field near Norfolk. In late April 2022, one of Celeste Burgess’ co-workers told Nebraska state troopers that the teen mentioned having a miscarriage and needing to “dig the body up and burn the baby’s body,” according to the Norfolk Daily News.
While the teen told police that she had a stillborn, the uncovered Facebook messages contradicted this.
Celeste Burgess pleaded guilty in May to prohibited acts with skeletal remains. She was also sentenced to two years of probation, which will be served concurrent with her 90-day jail sentence.
The Norfolk Daily News reported that a 22-year-old man pleaded no contest last year to misdemeanor charges for providing transportation to the Burgesses to and from the burial sites. The man said the remains were buried three times in April 2022, including once near a cemetery in Stanton County. He said the fetus was burned after the second burial.
Earlier this month, Jessica Burgess pleaded guilty to removing, concealing, or abandoning a dead body, false reporting, and performing or attempting an abortion. Her sentencing is scheduled for September 22.
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[Featured image: KMTV video screengrab]
