CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KOAA) — A case dismissed against a man who was accused of child abuse resulting in the death of an infant has been reversed by the Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday.
Cañon City Police say the death happened while William Jacobs, his girlfriend, and the child were living at a Motel 6 in Cañon City following a fire at their home in 2023.
Jacobs was originally taken into custody in Colorado Springs after the child, who was later identified as a 10-month-old Edward Hayes, died at the hospital, where he was receiving care.
As we have previously reported, the arrest affidavit stated Jacobs later told police the child had hit their head on a wall and on a light fixture while in his care. The court documents go on to say Jacobs also told the investigators "he disciplined (the child) in the same way as his dog and demonstrated throwing his dog, but used an infant-sized doll to demonstrate lightly throwing (the child) onto the bed," according to the affidavit.
The charges against Jacobs were dismissed after a court ruled "outrageous government conduct." On behalf of the 11th Judicial District Attorney at the time, Linda Stanley, sat down with ABC news affiliate KRDO for a tell-all interview during the case, which they chose to air. A court found her comments at the time damaging to Jacobs' right to due process and right to a fair trial, and the charges against him were dismissed.
On Thursday, the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed this decision, bringing the charges back against Jacobs.
In their opinion, while they recognized that conduct by the prosecuting attorney at the time was "outrageous government conduct," there were still things to consider in this case.
"Before any of the conduct at issue, Jacobs allegedly fatally injured a child and was arrested, charged and arraigned for the crime. In other words, Stanley’s commentary on the case did not play any part in the filing of charges against Jacobs. Under these circumstances, 'the power to dismiss charges based solely on government misconduct must be used sparingly.'" The official opinion reads.
With the reinstatement of the case, Jacobs faces the following charges:
- murder in the first degree, victim under 12 years of age
- child abuse knowingly causing death
- child abuse knowingly causing serious bodily injury
There is no court date set for Jacobs in the docket at the time of publishing this article, following the opinion. Should you like to read the appeals court's opinion, you can do so here.
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