Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 35-year-old Robert L. Dumas of Buffalo has been virtually arraigned before Buffalo City Court Judge Patrick M. Carney on one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class “A-I” felony.

 It is alleged that between August 1, 2020 and September 15, 2020, the defendant caused life-threatening injuries to his girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter by repeatedly assaulting the infant at a home on Hirschbeck Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The child, Simone Calhoun, was unresponsive when she was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital where she died from her injuries on Saturday, September 19. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma.

Dumas was previously arraigned before Judge Wray on one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class “B’ felony, on Thursday, September 17, 2020.

Dumas is scheduled to return on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. for a felony hearing. He was remanded without bail.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department for their work in the investigation.   

The case is being prosecuted by Chief Gary W. Hackbush of the DA’s Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Bethany A. Solek of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.