Troy man arrested in connection with child’s death | Crime

TROY - Police made an arrest in the death of a Troy toddler. Robert Hayden is now behind bars; accused of killing 21-month-old Avery Kahn.

Hayden was arraigned on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree at Troy City Court. When NewsChannel 13 first heard about the case back on Jan. 7 police said they didn’t know how Avery Kahn died, now they say they do know. They say Hayden covered the baby’s face with his hand.

Police say 29-year-old Robert Hayden suffocated Avery Kahn, a 21-month-old toddler. They say Hayden was frustrated because he said the baby would not stop crying.

“Avery Kahn died at the hands of Robert Hayden,” said Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police Department. “Robert Hayden inflicted injury to the child in the form of suffocation which resulted in asphyxiation.”

Police say Hayden was watching the baby at the time at an apartment in building four at Griswold Heights. The child’s mother was at work. Hayden is the mother’s ex-boyfriend not the baby’s biological father.

After the baby died, police say Hayden left the apartment and put the lifeless body in the toddler’s crib.

“Robert Hayden suffocated Avery Kahn and left Avery Kahn deceased in that apartment for several hours,” said Cooney.

Hayden was sent to the Rensselaer County Jail on $30,000 bail. Police say he is a level one sex offender for a charge from last August.