by A man accused of killing his girlfriend’s child has had all charges dropped because prosecutors said he wanted to “lay her out”.
William Jacobs, 22, was charged with the first-degree murder of 10-month-old Edward Hayes when the infant was found unresponsive in a motel room in Cañon City, near Colorado Springs, in May 2023.
Investigators allege that Jacobs shook little Edward to death after the child’s mother – his 21-year-old girlfriend Brooks Crawford – left him in his care when she went to work.
At the time, Jacobs told investigators he had gone to change Edward’s diapers when he “became stiff and started making gargling sounds,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox21.
He claimed that he started shaking and hitting the baby on his back to try to get him to breathe.
Edward was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries.
The arrest affidavit alleges that Jacobs’ story continued to change during his interview with law enforcement, admitting that he may have shaken and shook the child “a little rough” before saying he was not rough.
An autopsy found the 10-month-old died of blunt force trauma to the head.
But now, a year later, all charges have been dropped after Linda Stanley, Fremont County’s 11th judicial district attorney, made disparaging comments about the suspect to a news station.
Jacobs’ defense had filed a motion asking Fremont County District Court Judge Kaitlin Turner to dismiss the case, citing “treacherous government conduct” during an interview between DA Stanley and KRDO on July 12, 2023.
That day, DA Stanley, KRDO reporter Sean Rice and his cameraman attended a court hearing in the case, according to the motion obtained by the Cañon City Daily Record.
After the hearing, the journalists contacted DA Stanley to request an interview.
“DA Stanley agreed to an interview immediately after the set conference, and Mr. Rice and the cameraman were brought into the District Attorney’s Office inside the Fremont County Courthouse. Portions of this interview first aired on news station KRDO that same day, July 12, 2023,” the court filing states.
During the interview, the DA made comments about Jacobs, which his public defenders claimed were an attempt to “turn the press against him” and Crawford, his lawyers said.
“I’ll be very blunt here. He has zero investment in this child. zero. He is watching over that child so that it can give birth. That’s it. And have a place to sleep,” DA Stanley told KRDO’s 13 Investigates. “Sorry to be so blunt, but honest to God, that’s what’s going on.”
She also said of Crawford, who was also charged with child abuse causing injury and child abuse causing serious bodily injury in the case, reports CBS News.
DA Stanley later claimed she thought she was speaking “off the record”.
However, the defense said the 29-minute raw interview footage showed she knew she was being recorded, because she had a microphone clipped to her and commented on being taped, the Cañon City Daily Record reported.
The reporters from KRDO also submitted affidavits stating that DA Stanley did not request to speak off the record.
In Wednesday’s court order, the judge said the evidence showed Stanley “knew she was being recorded” during the interview.
“Stanley knew or should have known that her comments on the record to reporter Rice about Mr. Jacobs and co-defendant Crawford would be disseminated through public communications and that there would be a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to them. criminal proceedings,” wrote Judge Turner.
“Secondly, there was a significant likelihood of public criticism of Mr Jacobs in DA Stanley’s comments.
“Among her comments were her lively, sensational and inflammatory comments on Mr. Jacobs’ character, credibility, reputation, and criminal record. Third, DA Stanley observed that extrajudicial pretrial statements would have a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to the defendant’s rights to a fair trial.”
The judge dismissed all charges against Jacobs.
A similar motion to dismiss the charges against Crawford was granted in April because of DA Stanley’s comments and is currently pending review before the Colorado Court of Appeals.
DA Stanley faces a June 10 disciplinary hearing about this case, as well as comments she made about Barry Morphew’s criminal case, according to public documents seen by KRDO.
Morphew was accused of murdering his wife Suzanne Morphew – who disappeared back on Mother’s Day 2020 – before the charges were dropped.
He later filed a $15bn lawsuit against DA Stanley and six other prosecutors accusing them of “a political agenda to lock up Mr. Morphew in response to a media frenzy that prosecutors themselves helped create”.
