Remembering Robert

Robert Azure Jr. was only 13 months old. He was the youngest of four children living with his mother in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. At just over a year old, Robert was still a baby completely dependent upon the adults around him for his safety, comfort and care. There is very little publicly preserved about Robert's personality or the ordinary moments of his short life. Most of what remains today comes from the criminal case surrounding his death. But Robert was not evidence in a murder trial. He was a little boy first. He had siblings. He had a family. And he should have had an entire childhood ahead of him. His name was Robert Azure Jr., and his life deserves to be remembered separately from the violence that ended it.

​Robert's Story

In July 2008, Donald Warren Hayes moved into the home Robert shared with his mother and three older siblings. Hayes was unemployed and frequently cared for the children while Robert's mother worked at a local fast-food restaurant. On September 24, 2008, Robert's mother went to work. Robert and his siblings were left in Hayes's care. That day, Robert suffered catastrophic injuries. Hayes claimed that he had been carrying Robert when he tripped over the cord of a fan and fell. According to his account, Robert fell from his arms and struck his head on the exposed wooden subfloor. The medical evidence told a very different story. Robert suffered multiple skull fractures and severe brain injuries. Doctors also discovered retinal hemorrhaging, injuries to his arm and rib fractures. Some of the injuries found on Robert were in different stages of healing, indicating that not everything found on his little body had happened that day. Medical experts testified that Robert's injuries were far more severe than what they would expect from the simple accidental fall Hayes described. The medical examiner concluded that Robert had suffered multiple traumatic head injuries and ruled his death a homicide.

​The Warning Signs

Robert's death did not occur in a vacuum. Before Robert was killed, Donald Warren Hayes already had a documented history of domestic violence. During the later criminal proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence of multiple prior incidents of domestic abuse involving a former partner. That history became legally significant because Hayes was ultimately prosecuted under a Minnesota murder statute involving a death committed during domestic abuse by someone with a past pattern of domestic abuse. There were also troubling signs inside Robert's home after Hayes moved in. People who knew the children testified that they had previously appeared happy but later seemed scared and unhappy. On the day Robert was fatally injured, one of his older sisters returned home and heard Robert crying. She testified that Hayes appeared angry and was swearing at the baby before putting him in a bedroom. Robert's body revealed still more reasons for concern. Doctors found injuries in addition to the catastrophic head trauma that caused his death, including fractures and other injuries that were already healing. The medical evidence showed that not everything found on Robert's body had happened on the day he died. Robert was only 13 months old. He could not explain what was happening inside his home, tell someone that he was afraid, or ask another adult for help. The warning signs had to be recognized by the adults around him. By the time the full extent of Robert's injuries became known, it was too late.

​Justice for Robert

Donald Warren Hayes was prosecuted for Robert's death.

In April 2011, after hearing the evidence, a jury found Hayes guilty of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of domestic abuse and second degree felony murder.

The jury also found aggravating circumstances. Hayes was sentenced to: Life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Person convicted: Donald Warren Hayes
Relationship to Robert: Mother's boyfriend/caregiver
Convictions: First degree murder and second degree murder
Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

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Hayes appealed his first degree murder conviction to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

He argued, among other things, that prosecutors had failed to prove that he assaulted Robert and caused his death and that the evidence was insufficient to establish the required history of domestic abuse. On May 31, 2013, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected those arguments and affirmed his conviction.

​Forever Remembered

Robert lived for only 13 months. The surviving public record tells us far more about the injuries discovered on his body than it tells us about the little boy who lived inside that body. That is one of the hardest parts of memorializing children this young. There weren't enough years. There weren't school pictures, favorite subjects, childhood hobbies or stories about what Robert wanted to be when he grew up. He was never given the opportunity to create those memories. But a short life is still a whole life. Robert was the baby of a family with four children.  He was someone's little brother. And at 13 months old, his only responsibility was to be a child. Keeping him safe belonged entirely to the adults around him. The details of what happened to Robert should not be softened. His multiple skull fractures, brain injuries, retinal hemorrhaging, broken ribs and older injuries matter because they show the severity of the violence inflicted upon a child who could not defend himself. But those injuries are not Robert's identity. His name was Robert Azure Jr.  Abuse Angels remembers Robert, tells the truth about what was done to him, and preserves the name of the 13 month old little boy behind the Minnesota murder case.  Robert Azure Jr. mattered. And he will never be forgotten.