Jonathan Douglas Richardson: Trial, Death Sentence, and Appeals

Jonathan Douglas Richardson is a North Carolina man on death row for the July 2010 torture, sexual assault, and murder of four-year-old Teghan Skiba, his girlfriend’s daughter. A Johnston County jury convicted him in 2014 and recommended a death sentence, which the North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously affirmed in September 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his petition for review in June 2024.

What Happened to Teghan Skiba

In July 2010, Richardson was 21 and living in a small shed behind his grandparents’ home near Smithfield, North Carolina. The structure measured roughly 15 by 13 feet, with no running water or bathroom.¹ Teghan’s mother, Helen Roxanne Reyes, left the child in Richardson’s care while she traveled to New Mexico for Army Reserves training.²

Over roughly ten days, prosecutors said, Richardson subjected the four-year-old to sustained physical and sexual abuse inside the shed. Doctors later documented lacerations, puncture wounds, burns, bruising, and more than 60 bite marks across nearly every part of her body.³

On July 16, 2010, Richardson brought Teghan to Johnston Medical Center and told staff she had fallen off a bed. Staff recognized the extent of her injuries and called authorities. She was transferred to the intensive care unit at UNC Hospitals, where Dr. Keith Kocis, a pediatric critical care specialist with 25 years of experience, testified he had never seen such injuries and that “essentially no part of her body was spared.”⁴ Teghan had lost more than 70 percent of her blood and suffered severe intracranial bleeding and brain swelling.² She died on July 19, 2010.⁵

Investigators searching the shed recovered children’s clothing with blood on it, along with hairs microscopically similar to Teghan’s. A camera found at the scene contained photographs of the child that investigators used to reconstruct a timeline of the abuse.⁴

The Trial and Conviction

Richardson’s capital trial took place at the Johnston County Courthouse in Smithfield before Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock. Jury selection began in January 2014. In late March, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual offense with a child, and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.³

Prosecutors displayed 88 color photographs of Teghan’s injuries to the jury on a large monitor.⁶ Dr. Richard Barbaro, a forensic dentist, testified about the bite marks. Nurses, physicians, and a sheriff’s deputy described their reactions to seeing Teghan’s condition. Prosecutors described Richardson as a “sadist” who was “cold hearted” and “totally without remorse.”³

The defense argued Teghan’s death was a “tragic accident” caused by a fall and told the court their client had been “damaged by years of abuse” and struggled with “uncontrolled anger and untreated mental problems.”⁷

The Death Sentence

At the penalty phase, forensic pediatrician Dr. Sharon Cooper testified that she identified 144 injuries on Teghan’s body, calling them “textbook examples” of torture. She described the abuse as “deliberate and systematic,” a “calculated form of abuse” in which “a person takes time to set up what they’re going to do,” and rejected the defense theory that Richardson had lost control in a single incident.⁵

The defense presented evidence of Richardson’s own troubled upbringing, including testimony that his father had physically abused him. A clinical psychologist who evaluated Richardson testified about his family history of substance abuse and depression but concluded he “thinks logically and coherently” and that there was “no obvious basis for inferring” he could not recognize the wrongfulness of his conduct.⁸

On April 3, 2014, the jury unanimously found three statutory aggravating circumstances: the murder was committed during a sexual offense, it was committed during a kidnapping, and it was “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.” The defense submitted 46 mitigating circumstances; the jury found only three, including that Teghan’s mother had been aware of prior abuse yet still left the child in Richardson’s care. The jury concluded the mitigators did not outweigh the aggravators and recommended death.⁸

The Appeals

Because North Carolina requires direct review of every death sentence, Richardson’s case went straight to the state Supreme Court. On September 1, 2023, a unanimous opinion by Justice Michael Morgan affirmed all convictions and the death sentence.⁹

Among the issues the court rejected:

That displaying 88 injury photographs was unfairly prejudicial. The court held they corroborated testimony and proved elements of torture and child abuse.
That Dr. Cooper’s use of the word “torture” invaded the jury’s province. The court noted “torture” is not a statutory term of art in North Carolina and approved defining it as “a course of conduct which intentionally inflicts grievous pain and suffering upon another for the purpose of punishment, persuasion, or sadistic pleasure.”⁶
That statements Richardson made at the hospital should have been suppressed under Miranda. The court held he was not in police custody, and that private citizens such as hospital staff cannot trigger Miranda protections.
That prosecutors used a peremptory challenge to remove a Black woman from the jury panel in violation of Batson. The court rejected the claim.¹⁰

Conducting the proportionality review required in capital cases, the court noted it had never found a death sentence disproportionate where the murder victim was also sexually assaulted.⁶

Richardson then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, raising the Batson jury-selection challenge among other constitutional issues. On June 24, 2024, the Court denied certiorari, ending his direct appeal.¹¹

The Mother’s Separate Case

Teghan’s mother, Helen Roxanne Reyes, was charged separately. Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said Reyes knew Richardson had beaten the girl in the past, and an assistant district attorney stated Reyes had previously noticed blood, cuts, and bruises on her daughter after leaving her with Richardson.¹² At Richardson’s 2014 trial, Reyes testified she considered him a “father-figure” to the child and acknowledged returning home multiple times to find Teghan had been injured in his care.¹³

Reyes eventually pleaded guilty to a Class E felony child abuse charge, admitting “reckless disregard for the welfare of the child, resulting in serious bodily injury.” On March 6, 2019, she was sentenced to 18 to 31 months in prison.¹³

Where Richardson Stands Now

Richardson remains on North Carolina’s death row. He was not among the 15 inmates whose sentences Governor Roy Cooper commuted on December 31, 2024.¹⁴ No post-conviction motions or habeas petitions from Richardson appear in the available record.

An execution is not imminent for anyone in the state. North Carolina has not carried out an execution since 2006, a de facto moratorium tied to legal challenges and the inability to find medical professionals willing to administer lethal injections without risking their licenses. As of mid-2025, 122 people remained on the state’s death row.¹⁵ Legislative efforts both to restart executions using alternative methods and to abolish capital punishment have stalled in the General Assembly.¹⁶

1
WRAL. Richardson Trial Crime Scene Details
2
ABC11. Teghan Skiba Trial Coverage
3
6ABC. Richardson Death Penalty Verdict
4
ABC7 Chicago. Teghan Skiba Hospital Admission
5
WRAL. Dr. Cooper Testimony in Richardson Trial
6
UNC School of Government. Case Summary: State v. Richardson
7
WRAL. Richardson Defense Opening Statements
8
Findlaw. State v. Richardson
9
North Carolina Courts. State v. Richardson, No. 272A14
10
U.S. Supreme Court. Richardson Petition for Writ of Certiorari
11
U.S. Supreme Court. Docket No. 23-6804
12
ABC7. Helen Reyes Charged
13
WRAL. Reyes Sentenced for Child Abuse
14
Office of the Governor. Governor Cooper Takes Capital Clemency Actions
15
WRAL. North Carolina Death Penalty Status
16
CBS 17. 19 Years Since Last Execution, NC Still in Death Penalty Moratorium