Murder charge filed 11 years after Raleigh infant hurt by babysitter

A Wake County grand jury on Monday indicted Sharon Helen Hayes, 34, of Zebulon, on a charge of murder. She wasn't in custody as of Wednesday morning, and Wake County Assistant District Attorney Howard Cummings said Hayes, who also holds German citizenship, might not even be in the U.S.

Authorities said Hayes, who was then known as Sharon Helen Bryant, was caring for the child in her home and threw him to the floor. He suffered a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage.

Hinton underwent several surgeries and spent months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers before being able to return home, according to court documents. He died last Aug. 30 of pneumonia and infections, according to an autopsy report.

Hayes pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in the case and served more than six years in prison, according to state Department of Public Safety records.

Hinton's mother, Melissa Meyer, declined to comment Wednesday on the murder indictment against Hayes.

"I don’t think we have much to add at this time. We do not publicly speak on that part of Hinton’s story and don’t plan to change that at this time," Meyer said in a message to WRAL News.

Her mother, Debbie McGee, said at the time of Hayes' 2008 plea that Hinton's injuries devastated the family.

"There is not enough time or words to portray the impact that this cruel, senseless and so avoidable crime has had on this young family. ... Our life will never be the same," McGee wrote in a victim impact statement at the time.

An online obituary said Hinton was a fifth-grader at Cedar Fork Elementary School in Morrisville who enjoyed being outside, sports and music.

Cummings didn't say how prosecutors tied Hinton's death to the injuries he suffered 11 years ago, but a medical examiner stated in the boy's autopsy report that the pneumonia and infections were the consequence of the "remote, non-accidental traumatic head injury," noting that he often needed to be hospitalized for respiratory infections after his injury as a baby.

"Generally what we are looking for in these cases is, is there a direct nexus between the death and the actions that occurred," Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Wednesday.

"It's unusual that you would have circumstances such as these," Freeman added. "I think it's really important in cases when there's a death, especially of a child, that the state does everything it can do to make sure justice is served."