Charges against a Colorado man accused of killing his girlfriend’s baby were dropped after a prosecutor made disparaging comments about him during an interview.
William Jacobs, 22, was accused of shaking 10-month-old Edward Hayes to death at the Motel 6 in Canon City where the three lived on May 21, 2023.
Police said he was babysitting Hayes while the baby’s mother, Brook Crawford, 21, was at work and had previously admitted to abusing him.
A year after Hayes’ death, charges against Jacobs were dismissed by a Fremont County judge because of comments 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley made during an interview, the newspaper reported. Canon City Daily Record.
‘I’m going to be very direct here. He has no investment in this child. Zero. He’s taking care of that baby so he can get laid. That’s all. And have a place to sleep,” Stanley said. KRDO in August.
William Jacobs (pictured), 22, was accused of shaking 10-month-old Edward Hayes to death at the Motel 6 in Canon City where the three lived on May 21, 2023.
Charges against Jacobs have been dropped due to disparaging comments 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley (pictured) made during an interview.
‘So many bells had rung when they said the boyfriend was watching him. There were a lot of things that indicated a previous incident with that baby.
Jacobs was reportedly staying at the Motel 6 where Crawford worked the front desk and then moved into her room shortly after they met.
On May 21, 2023, police were called to Motel 6 where they found Hayes unresponsive and transported to Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs, where he died two days later.
According to an arrest affidavit, Jacobs said she was changing the baby’s diaper when he “got stiff and started gargling.”
She admitted to biting Hayes’ arm while playing with him and hitting the baby’s head on the bathroom door frame while trying to make him vomit.
Jacobs also explained that he would discipline the baby the same way he would discipline his dog and “demonstrated how to throw his dog, but he used a baby-sized dummy to demonstrate how he would gently throw (Edward) onto the bed.”
Police records say Jacobs admitted to discipling 10-month-old Hayes (pictured) like his dog.
The El Paso County coroner’s officer ruled that Hayes’ cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Jacobs was charged with first-degree murder and Crawford with child abuse.
On July 12, 2023, Stanley appeared on behalf of the People at an in-person conference for Jacobs, which was the only time he participated in the case.
Then, in August, she did an interview with KRDO where she accused Jacobs of dating Crawford to “get laid” and have a place to sleep.
Stanley claimed he thought he was speaking “off the record,” but a judge dismissed the case against Crawford in September after his attorneys argued that Stanley’s comments were “highly prejudicial.”
The dismissal against Crawford has been appealed and is pending review before the Colorado Court of Appeals.
A judge dismissed the case against Crawford (pictured) in September after his lawyers argued that Stanley’s comments were “highly prejudicial.”
Jacobs was reportedly staying at the Motel 6 (pictured) where Hayes’ mother, Brook Crawford, worked the front desk.
On Wednesday, Fremont County District Court Judge Kaitlin Turner dismissed the case against Jacobs for similar reasons.
“Having examined the totality of the facts, the Court concluded that District Attorney Stanley’s actions reflect outrageous, knowing and intentional government conduct,” a copy of the dismissal order obtained by KKTV saying.
“Therefore, dismissal of the charges is an appropriate solution.”
The document does not specify whether the charges were dismissed with prejudice and it is possible he could be charged again.
Jacobs was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond on April 9. Before her bond hearing, Crawford wrote a note to the judge indicating that he could live with her if he was released from her.
Stanley faces an ethics complaint and possible debarment, with a two-week hearing scheduled for June.