Facebook Gave Authorities Messages Between Mother and Daughter Who Are Facing Illegal Abortion Charges

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A mother from Nebraska is being charged for allegedly helping her daughter with an illegal abortion after Facebook turned over messages between the two to authorities.

On April 26, Detective Ben McBride of the Norfolk Police Investigations Unit began investigating claims that Jessica Burgess, 41, assisted her daughter, Celeste Burgess, who was 17 at the time, with an abortion, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.

In a sworn affidavit, McBride said Celeste "had given birth prematurely supposedly to a stillborn child." She and her mother then allegedly "buried the child together" and later told people that "they needed to dig the child's body up and then burn it."

After getting medical records, according to the affidavit, Detective McBride discovered that Celeste was approximately 23 weeks and 2 days pregnant at the time. She was allegedly due on July 3.

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The mother and daughter said they received help from a man named Tanner Barnhill, 22, who allegedly helped bury the fetus outside his parent's home.

On April 29, Detective McBride said Barnhill showed him where the fetus was buried and told authorities that Jessica and Celeste allegedly "tried to burn the body of the fetus prior to it being buried," the officer wrote.

Detective McBride added that Celeste, who has since turned 18, told authorities she realized she suffered the stillborn birth on April 22 after looking at her Facebook messages. McBride said that on June 7 he "obtained and served a search warrant to Facebook/Meta Platforms for information" on Jessica and Celeste's accounts.

In their exchange, per the detective's affidavit, Jessica tells Celeste that she received pills for Celeste. They allegedly discussed that Celeste would take one pill, wait 24 hours, then take the second pill. Celeste also "talks about how she can't wait to get the 'thing' out of her body and reaffirms with J. Burgess that they will burn the evidence afterwards," Detective McBride wrote.

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A friend of Celeste's reached out to the County Attorney's Office on June 14 and told authorities she was there when Celeste took the first pill, per the affidavit.

Jessica is now facing five charges, according to additional court documents obtained by the outlet: human skeletal remains (prohibited acts), concealing the death of another person, false information, abortion, and abortion by other than licensed physician.

Celeste is also charged with human skeletal remains, concealing the death of another person, and false information.

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Madison County Attorney Joseph Smith told the Lincoln Journal Star, "I don't think I've ever had a case like this. Usually, abortions are performed in hospitals, and doctors are involved, and it's not the type of stuff that occurred in this case."

The investigation took place before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. Before the controversial decision, Nebraska's state law banned abortions past 20 weeks, per NBC News.

Jessica's attorney tells PEOPLE no comment.

An attorney for Celeste did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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"Nothing in the valid warrants we received from local law enforcement in early June, prior to the Supreme Court decision, mentioned abortion," Facebook says in a statement shared with PEOPLE. "The warrants concerned charges related to a criminal investigation and court documents indicate that police at the time were investigating the case of a stillborn baby who was burned and buried, not a decision to have an abortion."

They add, "Both of these warrants were originally accompanied by non-disclosure orders, which prevented us from sharing any information about them. The orders have now been lifted."