A Nebraska mother has pleaded guilty to illegally giving her 17-year-old daughter abortion pills and helping her burn and bury the baby’s body.
Jessica Burgess, 42, of Norfolk, Nebraska, pled guilty to three felonies in a plea agreement with Madison County District Attorney Joe Smith. She admitted to providing an abortion after 20 weeks gestation, lying to police, and tampering with human remains.
As part of the plea deal, Smith dropped charges against Jessica for concealing the death of another person and providing an abortion by someone other than a physician. With the three remaining felonies, she could face up to five years in prison and $21,000 in fines.
Burgess helped her daughter, Celeste Burgess, order abortion pills on the internet in April 2022 when she was 29 weeks pregnant, in violation of Nebraska’s 20 week abortion ban. After taking the pills, the daughter gave birth to the aborted baby in the shower and put the body in a bag and a box, according to the Associated Press.
The pair then drove to a field outside of town, burned the baby’s dead body, and buried it. A detective wrote that the child’s body showed signs of “thermal wounds” and that a man who helped the duo confirmed the mother and daughter burned the baby’s dead body.
The mother-daughter duo was charged in August 2022, and they both initially pleaded not guilty. Celeste, now 18, reached a plea agreement in May and is scheduled for sentencing July 20, facing up to two years in prison. Jessica is scheduled for sentencing on September 22.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, mainstream media outlets obscured the facts of the case and instead focused on Facebook assisting law enforcement in enforcing an abortion law by handing over the duo’s messages.
“Are we starting it today?” Celeste Burgess asked her mother, to which her mom replied, “We can if u want,” adding, “the one will stop the hormones.”
The two discuss the process of taking the abortion pills before Celeste Burgess reminds her mother, “Remember we burn the evidence.”
“Yep,” her mother responds.
“Once everything is out,” the daughter continued.
“Yep,” the mom answers. “Thought u would b happy 2 hear the stuff came in.”
“Yes,” responds the daughter. “I will finally be able to wear jeans.”