June 15, 2022

New DNA testing conducted at the request of the Innocence Project of New York for a man who was found not guilty of a 1990 murder in Broward County has provided additional evidence that implicates him in that crime.

Robert Earl Hayes went to trial twice on a first-degree murder charge in the Feb. 20, 1990 homicide of Pamela Albertson, a horse groomer at the Pompano Beach race track. He was initially convicted and sentenced to death but his conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court in 1995. The original DNA testing in the case was among the first of its kind in Florida and the appeals court found some of it unreliable. A jury found him not guilty in his 1997 retrial.

Double jeopardy prohibits Broward prosecutors from re-trying Hayes for the homicide.

Hayes is serving 15 to 45 years in state prison in New York for manslaughter in the Aug. 14, 1987 homicide of Leslie Dickenson, a horse groomer at the Vernon Downs race track. Her death was initially ruled a suicide but the case was reinvestigated after the 1990 homicide. Hayes worked on the race track circuit. He was seen with Albertson just before she died and he “discovered” Dickenson’s body. During his trial on the New York murder case in 2004, Hayes pleaded guilty to manslaughter, arson, and burglary. He was sentenced to 15 to 45 years in state prison in New York. He would be eligible for parole in 2025.

Hayes’ date of birth is 12/12/1963 and his New York inmate number is 04B3541. 

The new information about the Broward case has been shared with the next of kin for both women, the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York State Board of Parole.

Hayes was brought back to the attention of Broward prosecutors long after his acquittal when the Innocence Project of New York representatives contacted our Conviction Review Unit (CRU) in late 2020. The defense team thought the hairs found clutched in Albertson’s hand could assist the defense in the Dickenson case. The Innocence Project of New York requested our CRU’s assistance in reviewing a claim of innocence involving Hayes’ conviction for the 1987 homicide in New York as well as the acquittal in the 1990 Broward homicide case. (Hayes’ defense attorneys in New York also communicated with the Oneida County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit regarding the 1987 homicide.)

The defense requested permission to test the hairs found clutched in Albertson’s hand to identify their origin. A major theme of the defense at both Broward trials was that the hair in her hand was from a Caucasian individual and Hayes is African-American. The defense at the second trial presented an alternate suspect, Scott Nicholas, a Caucasian male with a criminal history who worked on the same race track circuit as Hayes, Albertson and Dickenson. Hayes was eliminated as the source of the hairs in the 1990s and the defense theory was that the hairs belonged to the “real” killer.

Broward prosecutors agreed to release the hairs for testing by the defense’s choice of lab, Forensic Analytical Crime Lab (FACL) in California. Albertson’s profile, Hayes’ profile, and a profile of the defense’s suspect, Nicholas, were also provided. As part of the agreement with Hayes’ defense, CRU Assistant State Attorney-in-Charge Arielle Demby Berger and Broward Sheriff’s Office Detective John Curcio also requested DNA testing of vaginal and anal swab smear slides and fingernails.

The 2021 DNA testing confirmed the DNA findings used in the Broward trials were correct and provided new forensic insight into the source of the hair.

The DNA test report from the defense’s choice of lab stated the results provided “very strong evidence” that the male profile from the sperm on the vaginal swab smear slide originated from Hayes and that at least one of the hairs matches the victim’s profile, but not Hayes or the alternate suspect. None of the tested DNA or hairs matched the alternate suspect, Nicholas. The new DNA test results from the vaginal swab point to Hayes’ involvement in the Broward murder of Albertson, despite the fact that a jury acquitted him of the state homicide charge in the 1997 retrial. The DNA results from the hair support the theory that the victim’s own hair was clutched in her hand during the fatal attack.

Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said: “Our Conviction Review Unit is dedicated to seeking the truth and reviewing plausible claims of innocence from people who have exhausted all of their rights to appeal and have nowhere left to turn. We go in with an open mind, no preconceptions, and follow the evidence wherever it goes. In this case, the new DNA evidence implicates Robert Earl Hayes in a 1990 homicide that jurors found him not guilty of committing. We believe it is just as relevant to speak the truth about what happened in this case and try to hold Mr. Hayes accountable – to the extent possible – as it is to exonerate those who are innocent. We will speak to the Parole Board in New York to try to ensure that Mr. Hayes is not released from prison and we will do this in the interests of justice and to help safeguard all communities.”

Read Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor’s letter to the New York State Parole Board here.

Read Broward Sheriff’s Detective John Curcio’s report here.

Ms. Albertson’s surviving family members said they do not want to comment for media reports but may have a representative speak to the Parole Board in New York. Click Pamela Albertson photo for the only photograph of the Broward victim in the State Attorney’s Office files.

The family of Ms. Dickenson, the New York victim, provided these photographs of her: Leslie Dickenson photo one and Leslie Dickenson photo two. Broward prosecutors and Ms. Dickenson’s family would like to address the Parole Board in New York.

“One of my biggest regrets is he took her from us and she never got to know both her nieces and her great-nieces and nephews … But mostly I still miss her and cry when I think of her,” said Donna Dickenson-Helps, Leslie’s sister.

In 2019, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office opened the Conviction Review Unit (CRU) to continue our practice of reviewing and investigating claims of innocence. The CRU screens cases for plausible claims of innocence and conducts detailed investigations, using the newest science, technology, techniques, experts and laws to ensure that innocent people are free and that true perpetrators are held accountable.  Since its inception, we have had one exoneration.