FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. — A judge in Fremont County dismissed first-degree murder charges this week against a man accused of killing a 10-month old baby after the district attorney prosecuting the case did an interview with a TV station appearing to disparage the suspect.
District Court Judge Kaitlin B. Turner wrote in an order Wednesday that 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley's "actions reflect knowing and intentional outrageous government conduct." The order concludes that her conduct violated the defendant's right to due process and, as a result, "dismissal of the charges is an appropriate remedy."
William Jacobs was charged with first-degree murder after a woman left her son with him on May 21, 2023. Prosecutors alleged Jacobs shook the baby and the baby ultimately died.
> The video above aired in November: All judges in Colorado district recuse themselves from murder case, citing DA's poor behavior
In the months after the charges were filed against both Jacobs and the mother, Stanley did an interview with KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs. In the interview, she appeared to disparage Jacobs.
"I'm going to be very blunt here. He has zero investment in this child. Zero. He's watching that baby so he can get laid. That's it. And have a place to sleep," Stanley told KRDO reporter Sean Rice in the video-recorded interview.
In the court order dismissing the charges against Jacobs, Turner wrote, "Her comments included her vituperative, sensational and inflammatory opinions of Mr. Jacobs’ character, his credibility, his reputation and his criminal record."
Child abuse charges against the other defendant in the case were dropped earlier this year after a different judge ruled that Stanley's comments and actions violated her rights.
Stanley is no stranger to controversy and finds herself in a battle to keep her law license. The Colorado Supreme Court's presiding disciplinary judge will hear a complaint filed against her by the Office of Attorney Regulations Counsel on June 10.
Stanley is accused of withholding evidence from defense attorneys in the highly publicized Suzanne Morphew murder case and launching a secret investigation against the sitting judge in the Morphew case because she disagreed with his rulings, among other accusations.
Stanley could face a penalty up to being disbarred by the presiding disciplinary judge.
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