A Colorado man charged with murdering his girlfriend’s 10-month-old baby had his charges dismissed this week after a judge ruled the lead prosecutor violated his right to due process by telling a reporter he only babysat the infant to “get laid.”
William Jacobs, 22, was accused of shaking baby Edward Hayes to death after he was found unresponsive in a motel room in Cañon City, about 40 miles south of Colorado Springs, in May 2023, according to local reports.
An order granting the motion to dismiss was filed Wednesday by Fremont County District Court Judge Kaitlin Turner after the district attorney prosecuting the case gave a shocking interview disparaging the suspect, The Cañon City Daily Record reported.
Jacobs was the last person to care for Edward after the baby’s mother and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Brook Crawford, left the two alone while she went to work.
A coroner ruled that the baby died of blunt-force trauma to the head. He was arrested on May 21 and charged with first-degree murder.
But the charges were ultimately dropped because of comments 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley made during an interview with a local news outlet about the case that amounted to “outrageous government conduct,” the judge ruled.
“I’m going to be very blunt here. He [referring to Mr. Jacobs] has zero investment in this child. Zero,” the DA told KRDO in August. “He’s watching that baby so he can get laid. That’s it. And have a place to sleep.”
“I’m sorry to be that blunt, but honest to God, that’s what’s going on,” she added.
Stanley also told the reporter in the interview that Jacobs “has a pretty awful past, including fondling his mom … It’s not good … It’s kinda weird … What kid fondles their mom, right?”
The prosecutor additionally disclosed that he had been previously charged with a sex crime, had spent time in a juvenile detention center and had a “violent past.”
“This conduct violated Mr. Jacobs’ right to due process. As a result, dismissal of the charges is an appropriate remedy,” Turner wrote.
Jacobs was staying at the Motel 6 where Crawford lived and worked at the front desk. He moved into her room shortly after they met, according to local reports.
After the baby was found unresponsive, Jacobs initially told police that he was changing the baby’s diaper when Edward “went stiff and began making gargling noises,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the paper.
Jacobs confessed to allegedly abusing the baby before — by biting him on the arm while playing with him too hard and hitting the infant’s head on the bathroom door frame while he was trying to make him vomit in the toilet. The baby had also been bitten by a dog before, he said.
At a preliminary hearing, the court heard expert testimony declaring that Edward’s head trauma was non-accidental based on the severity and pattern of the injuries, according to the Canon City Daily Record.
Jacobs was released on a personal recognizance bond on April 9 after Crawford submitted a letter to the court saying he could stay with her.
“William is a good person,” Crawford wrote. “He just needs the opportunity to show you and the community and he has so much potential that is being thrown away in jail. … I feel if you just give him the time and chance to show you, you would understand how great of a person he is and will be.”
Stanley is facing an ethics complaint and potential disbarment. A hearing regarding her conduct has been scheduled for June.
