TROY, N.Y. - Robert Hayden has accepted a plea deal Monday in Rensselear County Court for the death of a Troy toddler who died while in his care in January 2012.
The judge accepted a plea deal for first-degree manslaughter on Monday, meaning Hayden, 29, faces 25 years in state prison when sentenced on October 25th.
He was charged for smothering 21-month-old Avery Cahn to death on January 7th at the Griswold Heights Apartment complex while the toddler's mother, Shannon Pozniakas, was at work.
He will also receive five years post-release probation and served two protection orders against the baby's mother and her other son Ethan. The plea means Hayden also waived his right to appeal.
Hayden was arrested and charged more than six weeks after Avery's death. He originally pleaded not guilty in April to charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The courtroom was full of emotion Monday as Pozniakas heard Hayden explain how he killed her son and why he is guilty.
In an original statement to police, Hayden said: "I covered his mouth to get him to stop crying. I did not cover his nose. I was not trying to suffocate him. I held my hand over his mouth for a minute. He stopped breathing."
Hayden then stated he started CPR on the boy. Saying he gave him CPR for two hours, but it was not working as his "belly kept filling up with air."
Hayden said he did not call 911 because he panicked. "I realize I was wrong now," he said in his statement.
Hayden said he then put Avery in the playpen and "covered him up" before leaving the apartment to get pot from a neighbor. Hayden then said he went to smoke pot before returning to "see the baby."
He said he texted Avery's mother to say the boy was down for a nap and then left the apartment and started walking toward Wyantskill. He said at some point before leaving Troy he threw his phone and keys in the woods and kept walking. He then ran into a friend who told him the police were looking for him. Soon after, he was taken into custody.
Avery's mother discovered the child dead and the Hayden not present when she returned home from work.
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