{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}} {{short description|American gang member and murder victim (1983-1994)}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Robert Sandifer | image_name = Robert sandifer.jpg | image_caption = [[Mug shot]] of Sandifer | other_names = "Yummy" | birth_date = {{Birth date|1983|3|12}} | birth_place = [[Chicago]], Illinois, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|9|1|1983|3|12}} | death_place = Chicago, Illinois, US | death_cause = Gunshot wounds | charge = Arson, armed robbery, drug possession | conviction_penalty = Probation | conviction_status = Deceased | occupation = Street gang member<br />([[Black Disciples]]) }} '''Robert Sandifer''' (March 12, 1983<ref>{{cite web | url= https://steemit.com/news/@intunejune/the-sad-chicago-story-of-yummy-sandifer | title=The Sad Chicago Story of Yummy Sandifer |author= intunejune| website= steemit.com| publisher= |date=July 16, 2017 | access-date= January 16, 2026}}</ref> – September 1, 1994), also known as '''Yummy''', was an [[African-American]] boy from [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. Standing {{cvt|4|ft|6|in}}, Sandifer was a member of the Chicago [[gang|street gang]] the [[Black Disciples]] (BD). His murder at age 11 by fellow gang members in Chicago garnered national attention because of his youth,<ref name=tor>{{cite news |title=To Our Readers| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981476,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110122214748/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981476,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2011| access-date=March 30, 2011|work= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 19, 1994| last= Long| first= Elizabeth Valk}}</ref><ref name=mim>{{cite news |title= Murder in Miniature| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981460,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070428135038/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981460,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 28, 2007| access-date=March 30, 2011|newspaper=Time|date=September 19, 1994| last1= Gibbs| first1= Nancy R.|last2= Grace| first2= Julie| last3= Hull| first3= Jon D.}}</ref><ref name= Time9.12.94>{{cite magazine |title=There Are No Children Here| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981434,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080122002201/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981434,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2008| access-date=March 30, 2011 |work= Time|date=September 12, 1994| last= Grace| first= Julie}}</ref><ref name=daaea>{{cite news| title= Death at an Early Age|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20103912,00.html |work= [[People (magazine)|People]] |date=September 19, 1994 |last= Hewitt| first= Bill| pages=52–54 |access-date=March 30, 2011}}</ref> resulting in his appearing on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in September 1994.<ref name=Time9.12.94/> His nickname originated from his love for cookies.<ref name="Powers"/>
Sandifer had committed murder, theft, and armed robbery, but he was murdered by his own fellow gang members who feared he could become a "[[Informant|snitch]]" and expose their criminal activities to authorities if he were arrested. Coverage of Sandifer's death and retrospectives on his short, violent life were widely published in the American media. Sandifer became a symbol of the gang problem in American [[inner cities]], the failure of [[social safety net]]s, and the shortcomings of the [[American juvenile justice system|juvenile justice system]].
== Early life, family and education == Robert Sandifer was born in Chicago on March 12, 1983. Sandifer's mother, Lorina Sandifer, had over 30 arrests while prostituting,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://morbidology.com/too-young-to-kill-too-young-to-die-robert-yummy-sandifer/|title=Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die – Robert "Yummy" Sandifer | work= Morbidology.com |date=January 19, 2018}}</ref> many of which were drug-related. Sandifer's father, Robert Akins, was absent throughout Sandifer's life due to incarceration for a felony gun charge. Sandifer was physically abused from the time he was an infant.<ref name="Powers">{{cite journal |last1=Powers |first1=Mike |title=Stop the Violence |journal=Human Ecology Forum |date=Winter 1995 |volume=23 |issue=1 }}</ref>
Before he was three years old, Sandifer was already known to the [[Illinois Department of Children and Family Services]] (DCFS). Physical examinations showed that Sandifer was alleged to have had [[cigarette burns]] on his arms and neck as well as linear bruising consistent with physical beatings. Lorina initially blamed the abuse on Sandifer's father, although she later recanted.<ref name="Papajohn">{{cite news |last1=Papajohn |first1=George |title=Robert: Executed At 11 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-09-02-9409020325-story.html |work= [[Chicago Tribune]] |date=September 2, 1994 |access-date=June 10, 2019}}</ref>
In 1987, Sandifer and his siblings were removed from his mother's home by DCFS. The children were sent to live with their grandmother in Chicago's [[Roseland, Chicago|Roseland]] neighborhood. This residence contained as many as 19 children on some occasions. By most accounts, this grandmother's home was not much better than Sandifer's previous home.<ref name="Papajohn" />
By age eight, Sandifer quit attending school and began to roam the streets, stealing cars and breaking into houses. At age ten, he was arrested on charges of [[armed robbery]]. A psychological examiner at the time reported that "Robert is a child growing up without any encouragement and support", and that he "has a sense of failure that has infiltrated almost every aspect of his inner self".<ref name="Papajohn" />
In 1993, Sandifer and his siblings were removed from his grandmother's home and were sent to the Lawrence Hall DCFS shelter on Chicago's North Side. Sandifer ran away from the facility and never returned. From 1993 until his death, Sandifer's whereabouts and living arrangements remain unclear, although he continued to be arrested by the authorities.<ref name=mim />
== Murder of Shavon Dean == On August 28, 1994, Sandifer's gang associates ordered him to ambush their rivals as an initiation test, since his age made him less conspicuous. He opened fire several times with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic [[pistol]], striking several youths. Sandifer quickly fled the scene. Among his victims was a 14-year-old girl, Shavon Dean, who was fatally hit by a stray bullet.<ref name="DailyHerald">{{cite news |title=Two fellow gang members charged in execution of 11-year-old |work=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)|Daily Herald]]| place= Arlington Heights, Illinois| agency=[[Associated Press]]|page=6|via=[[NewspaperArchive]]|date=September 3, 1994}}</ref>
==Death== After the shooting, the police were looking for Sandifer, who was hiding with gang members in his neighborhood.<ref name=DailyHerald/> On August 31, 1994, while standing on a neighbor's porch after trying to call his grandmother and asking for prayers as he was going to turn himself in,<ref name= "chicagotribune_2019-08-30"/> Sandifer was met by brothers Cragg Hardaway, 16, and Derrick Hardaway, 14, who were both members of the [[Black Disciples]] street gang. Sandifer was told he was being taken to a safe location out of town and ordered into a waiting car.<ref name="DailyHerald" />
Instead, he was taken to a railroad underpass at East 108th Street and South Dauphin Avenue and told to get on his knees. While kneeling, Sandifer was shot twice in the back of the head by the two Hardaway brothers.<ref name="DailyHerald" /> Sandifer's body was discovered by the [[Chicago Police Department]] in the early morning hours of September 1, 1994.<ref name="Star-News_2007-12-18">{{Cite news | first = Sharon |last= Cohen | title = Locked up at 14 for an infamous murder, living with regrets and dreaming of a future | url = http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20071218/YOUTH/71214002?p=4&tc=pg | newspaper = [[Star-News]] | date = December 18, 2007 | access-date = January 4, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131214184720/http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20071218/YOUTH/71214002?p=4&tc=pg | archive-date = December 14, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="chicagotribune_2019-08-30">{{Cite news|title = 11-year-old 'Yummy' Sandifer was on the run for killing a teenage girl. Then he was killed by his own gang in a Chicago story that shocked the nation 25 years ago.|date = August 30, 2019|url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-yummy-sandifer-25-years-later-20190829-3xrgt2onqrgd7bqiyxmjm3n2ri-story.html |last1= Lee| first1= William |last2= Buckley| first2= Madeline |newspaper = Chicago Tribune|access-date = August 31, 2019}}</ref>
Around 400 people attended Sandifer's funeral, which was held at the Youth Center of a [[Church of God in Christ]] on Chicago's Northwest Side.<ref>{{Cite news|title = In an 11-Year-Old's Funeral, a Grim Lesson|date = September 8, 1994|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/08/us/in-an-11-year-old-s-funeral-a-grim-lesson.html|first = Don|last = Terry|newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |access-date = September 15, 2013}}</ref> The only photo that his family could find of him was his [[mug shot]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Litvin |first=Michelle |date=1994-09-15 |title=Parting Shots |url= https://chicagoreader.com/news/parting-shots/ |work= [[Chicago Reader]] |language=en-US |access-date=2025-05-10}}</ref>
The two Hardaway brothers were later convicted of Robert Sandifer's murder.<ref name="Star-News_2007-12-18" /><ref name="chicagotribune_2019-08-30" /> Derrick received a 45-year sentence and Cragg received a 60-year sentence. Derrick was released from prison in December 2016. Cragg was released from prison in December 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bogert |first1=Carroll |title=I Wasn't a Superpredator. I Was a Kid Who Made a Terrible Decision. |url=https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/11/20/i-wasn-t-a-superpredator-i-was-a-kid-who-made-a-terrible-decision |website= themarshallproject.org| publisher= [[The Marshall Project]] |date=November 20, 2020 |access-date=April 6, 2021}}</ref>
== In popular media == * ''[[Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty]]'', a graphic novel
== See also == * [[List of homicides in Illinois]] * [[List of youngest killers]] * [[African-American organized crime]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandifer, Robert}} [[Category:1983 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American murderers]] [[Category:1994 murders in the United States]] [[Category:American murderers of children]] [[Category:People murdered by African-American organized crime]] [[Category:Gang members]] [[Category:Murder committed by minors]] [[Category:Child murder in Illinois]] [[Category:Murdered American gangsters]] [[Category:People murdered in Chicago]] [[Category:Murdered African-American people]] [[Category:Deaths by firearm in Illinois]] [[Category:Incidents of violence against boys]] [[Category:Male juvenile murderers]] [[Category:Juvenile murderers]] [[Category:Murdered American children]]