Minnesota Court of Appeals Upholds Lower Court’s Ruling Overturning Stearns County Man’s Murder Conviction

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling overturning the conviction of an Albany man wrongly accused of killing his infant son.

Court papers say in August of 2014, Robert John Kaiser was caring for his two-month-old baby William. During the day, the child became pale, sweaty, fussy, and eventually unresponsive. He was brought to the hospital and was suffering seizures. Doctors gave William Propofol while they tried to determine the cause of the seizures.

William was examined at the hospital, and CT scans showed a brain bleed, bleeding behind the eyes, but no skull fracture. As the days wore on, the child showed stomach issues, and his condition continued to deteriorate. He died September 3rd, 2014.

Kaiser said hospital staff went back and forth, unsure whether it was shaken baby syndrome or an underlying medical condition that caused the injuries. Kaiser was eventually arrested and charged with one count of first degree murder and two counts of second degree murder.

During the trial, six doctors who examined and treated William testified that there was no way the child could have sustained those injuries except for violent shaking. Another medical expert testified and said William’s injuries were older, and the absence of skull or neck trauma “weighed against but did not preclude a diagnosis” of abusive head trauma. A neonatologist also testified prolonged exposure to Propofol caused William to develop a bowel issue which ultimately caused his death.

Kaiser testified in his defense, saying the baby fell out of his stroller a month before and had “suffered a bout of prolonged vomiting” before being admitted to the hospital.

The jury found Kaiser guilty in 2016 of two counts of murder, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Kaiser appealed his conviction, and his attorneys had several independent medical experts look at the evidence who said there was a medical cause for William’s injuries, and there was no criminal element to it.

William had an undiagnosed medical condition known as cerebral venous thrombosis, which causes clotting in the brain’s venous system. Kaiser’s attorneys argued none of the state’s medical witnesses disclosed the presence of CVT and insisted that the baby could only have died due to abuse at the hands of his father.

Court papers say the medical evidence showing William’s condition, flawed testimony, and ineffective advice from counsel was enough to support the claim that Kaiser was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial and the conviction should be overturned. In October of 2022, a Stearns County judge agreed and vacated the conviction, a move that the Stearns County Prosecutor’s Office appealed.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion this week, affirming the district court’s decision to vacate the conviction. Stearns County now has 30 days to decide to appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, retry Kaiser or drop the case.

Kaiser’s attorneys say the “team continues to work on his case to ensure his innocence is proven once-and-for-all and his freedom is guaranteed.” An email sent to KNSI says:

“We are thrilled with the Court of Appeals decision to uphold the district court’s order setting aside the conviction. After conducting an extensive investigation, we firmly believe in Robert’s innocence and that he should not have spent nearly eight years behind bars. However, the prosecution is still determining what they will do next, and we cannot make any additional comments while the case is still pending.”

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