Edward Hayes was 10 months old when emergency crews found him unresponsive in Cañon City in 2023.
CAÑON CITY, Colo. — The death of 10-month-old Edward Hayes, a baby found unresponsive in a Cañon City motel room, is again the center of a Colorado murder case against William Jacobs.
Edward’s case returned to court after the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed a 2024 dismissal that had ended the prosecution. The ruling does not decide guilt. It restores charges against Jacobs, who was accused of killing the child while watching him at a Motel 6. The case now carries two consequences: a renewed search for accountability in Edward’s death and new legal questions about how courts handle public comments by prosecutors.
Edward was living at the motel with his mother, Brook Crawford, and Jacobs when the emergency call came in May 2023. Police said Jacobs had been caring for the baby while Crawford worked. Edward was taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he later died. Investigators said Jacobs was the last person known to have watched him. The motel setting became important because it was also where the adults met. Court records said Crawford worked the front desk and Jacobs had been staying there before they began dating and moved into the same room. Within days, Edward was dead.
Reports on the arrest affidavit described injuries and statements that prosecutors are expected to revisit. Jacobs allegedly told detectives he bit Edward on the arm while playing with him. He also allegedly said Edward’s head hit a door frame while Jacobs was trying to make the baby throw up. Other accounts said Jacobs described the child hitting a wall and light fixture. KOAA reported that Jacobs demonstrated discipline with an infant-sized doll and compared it to how he disciplined his dog. Prosecutors have characterized the death as murder and child abuse. Jacobs has not been convicted, and the defense has not had a trial where it can challenge the evidence in front of jurors.
A nurse who was staying near the room reportedly became one of the first people to respond. Reports said she heard sounds from the room, saw Edward’s condition, called 911 and began CPR. That account may become part of the prosecution’s effort to show the timeline before medical help arrived. It may also raise questions for the defense about what the nurse heard, what she saw and what happened before she entered the room. The medical record is expected to be central. Public reporting has described blunt force head trauma and brain bleeding, but a jury has not heard expert testimony about the cause and timing of Edward’s injuries.
The case took an unusual turn because of what happened after Jacobs was charged. Former 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley gave a television interview in August 2023 and spoke sharply about Jacobs. She said he had “zero investment” in Edward and was watching him to pursue Crawford and have a place to sleep. Stanley also said she believed prosecutors had the evidence. District Court Judge Kaitlin Turner later found that the comments harmed Jacobs’ right to a fair trial and dismissed the charges in 2024. That dismissal meant the case no longer moved toward trial, even though the baby’s death remained unresolved in criminal court.
The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed that result on May 21, 2026. Judge Elizabeth L. Harris wrote for a three-judge panel that Stanley’s conduct was not condoned, but the legal test for outrageous government conduct is narrow. The panel said Stanley’s interview did not cause the charges to be filed because Jacobs had already been arrested, charged and arraigned. The judges said dismissal should be used sparingly and that other steps can protect a defendant from unfair publicity. Those steps may include questioning jurors about what they heard, moving a trial, giving instructions or limiting certain arguments.
Stanley’s own career ended before the case returned. She was disbarred and removed from office in November 2024 for ethical violations. Her discipline was separate from Edward’s death case, but her comments had direct effects on it. After Jeff Lindsey became district attorney, his office sought to revive the prosecution. The appeals court’s ruling gives the new office that chance. It also leaves the trial judge with a record of publicity to manage. The judge may have to decide whether Fremont County can seat an impartial jury and whether either side should be restricted from speaking publicly before trial.
The revived charges are serious. Public reporting lists murder in the first degree involving a victim under 12, child abuse knowingly causing death and child abuse knowingly causing serious bodily injury. A conviction on the most serious charge would carry severe penalties under Colorado law. Before that, prosecutors must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense can challenge the cause of death, the timing of injuries, Jacobs’ statements, police interview methods and the impact of earlier publicity. Crawford may also be a witness because she knew Jacobs, worked at the motel and left Edward in his care, according to investigators.
For Cañon City, the case joins a local court record shaped by both a child’s death and a prosecutor’s collapse from office. The facts are stark: a 10-month-old baby, a motel room, emergency CPR and allegations of blunt force injuries. The legal path is less simple. A judge once ruled the case could not proceed because of government misconduct. An appeals court now says it can. That means the community may finally hear evidence in a courtroom rather than through interviews, news reports and filings.
The case stands reopened, with no trial verdict and no public report of a new hearing date after the appellate ruling. The next step is for Fremont County District Court to set proceedings on the reinstated charges.
Author note: Last updated June 22, 2026.