Father sentenced in toddler’s death

It took five years, three states, and multiple agencies, but the story of a little girl named Noelani, whose body was found in a ditch just outside of Blooming Prairie, has ended.

Dariaz Lewis Higgins, 40, pleaded guilty on April 3 to second-degree murder without intent. He was the child’s father.

Mower County District Court Judge Natalie Martinez accepted the plea, then sentenced Higgins to 210 months in prison. He must serve at least 140 months, or 11 years, before he is eligible for parole.

Those details are just a formality, however: Higgins is already serving a life sentence without the chance of parole, plus another 10 years, for killing Noelani’s mother in Wisconsin.

He shot Sierra Robinson and a friend on March 11, 2019. The friend survived.

The real story

Last week, in a courtroom full of law enforcement and courthouse personnel who had worked the little girl’s case, Higgins answered his public defender’s questions clearly and without emotion after entering the plea.

Daniel Donnelly laid the foundation of what happened at the Rodeway Inn Motel in Austin, where Higgins and Noelani stayed from about Feb. 6, 2019, until March 10, 2019.

“And during that time, you became frustrated with Noelani and assaulted her with your fists – hit her – multiple times in the head, causing her brain to hemorrhage, is that correct?” Donnelly asked.

“And as a result of this, she died, is that correct?”

Higgins answered “yes” to each question.

When questioned about her death in 2019, Higgins claimed she fell off the toilet in the motel room and died.

He was not offered a deal of any kind for his plea, said Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen.

She asked Judge Martinez for a “box sentence,” using the imposed guidelines of 179 to 252 months, to run concurrently with the Wisconsin life sentence.

The family

Hevonte Robinson and Latosha Bryant, Noelani’s uncle and grandmother, respectively, gave victim impact statements over Zoom. The computer sat on the defense’s table, allowing them to look directly at Higgins.

“I just want to say how traumatic all of this has been,” Robinson said. “Losing my sister and my niece has changed my life drastically. It’s changed all of our lives. When he did this, it didn’t just affect people in Minnesota and our immediate family – it touched the whole United States.

“It’s so horrific to think he could do this to his own daughter,” he continued. “If we have to deal with this for the rest of our lives, he should have to deal with it for the rest of his life.”

Bryant, Sierra Robinson’s mother, spoke next.

“It’s been five long, long years,” Bryant said. “I thank God it’s come to an end, and now my babies can rest. What you just admitted to doing to your own child … I don’t even understand. Thank God justice is being served.”

Her memory

Nelsen was the last to address the court before Martinez handed down the sentence.

Throughout the case, court documents have identified the little girl as N.J.R., a standard practice in protecting victims’ identity.

“When we took the plea, we referred to her by her initials,” Nelsen said, “but Noelani Robinson was so much more than just her initials. She had potential, a future. She had joy.

“She was a child that deserved so very much more,” she continued. “This was a child who was very loved: She was loved by her family, by the community … and she was loved by the people of Blooming Prairie. They tend to that spot. They put flowers there; they’ve put a light out there – she’s not been forgotten.

“This is all just so sad,” Nelsen said, “and it’s because the defendant killed her. She will always be a light, and a part of the community that continues to love her in Blooming Prairie.”

Martinez addressed the toddler’s family, telling them, “I heard your words, and I’m so, so sorry for your loss. This is so far outside what you expect in a civilized society … it’s not enough, but it’s all we can do.”

Higgins declined when asked if he had anything to say. He offered no apologies or explanations.

“It’s just sad,” Nelsen repeated outside the courtroom after the sentencing. “We can’t punish him anymore, but we can get some justice in her name.”

She emphasized how grateful the family is that the spot where Noelani was discarded has been cared for, lovingly, for years.

“It does make the grandparents … they’re touched,” she said. “It’s the complete opposite of what she got from her father.”

The timeline

Noelani was killed at the Rodeway Inn Motel in Austin sometime during the first week of March 2019.

Higgins said he wrapped her body in blankets and left her on the motel room floor for a few days.

Early the morning of March 10, 2019, as he drove toward Minneapolis in a blizzard, Higgins stopped near the intersection of U.S. Highway 218 and Minnesota Highway 30 just north of Blooming Prairie and put her body in the ditch.

Meanwhile, Sierra Robinson had been living in Las Vegas and wanted the little girl back.

The next day, March 11, 2019, Higgins agreed to meet Noelani’s mother in Milwaukee to exchange the child.

The pair, along with Robinson's friend Lynaettia Parker, 42, rode around Milwaukee for a time before arriving at an apartment building where Higgins said they would find Noelani.

As the two women walked toward the building, Higgins shot them both in the back.

Robinson was hit 10 times; she died at the scene. Parker, who was shot eight times, sustained grievous injuries.

Because Noelani was presumed to have been with Higgins, an Amber Alert was issued that same day – as Noelani lay in a snowy Minnesota ditch.

After the shooting, Higgins drove to Michigan to get rid of the gun before returning to Milwaukee, where he was arrested on March 13 for shooting the women.

Noelani was found by a passerby on March 15.

An autopsy determined she had died from multiple non-accidental blunt force injuries to her head.

The ending

In April 2021, Higgins pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for the shooting in Milwaukee.

“I can’t imagine anything more cruel than to have mom come to Milwaukee and lead her on a goose chase, knowing the child is already dead,” a Wisconsin judge told Higgins during his sentencing there.

Higgins had his opportunity to speak before the sentence: He told the judge that Robinson had stolen from him and was using their baby as a bargaining chip.

“I did not know that it was going to end up turning out the way that it did,” Higgins said.

"What I see is somebody who has absolutely no remorse for the crimes that he has committed, and quite frankly, is still blaming the victim," Judge Janet Protasiewicz said. "It's stunning to me."

He had the possibility of receiving a life sentence with the chance of parole after 30 years – until his comments.

The end of the criminal case here in Minnesota is “something everyone has been looking for,” said Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele, who was among the first on the scene back in March 2019.

“I’ve been doing this for 33-plus years. You don’t forget about things like this,” he said. “I don’t know what else you can say about something like this. She can’t get her 2-year-old granddaughter back.”

He and Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik applauded the teamwork of the many jurisdictions that were involved in the case.

In addition to their agencies, representatives from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Austin Police Department, Blooming Prairie Police Department, the medical examiner’s office, Wisconsin law enforcement and attorneys from both states all played a role.

Higgins was returned to Wisconsin late last week to serve out his life sentence.