Robert Sandifer

Robert Sandifer (March 12, 1983 – September 1, 1994), also known as Yummy, was an American boy from Chicago, Illinois who was a member of the Chicago street gang the Black Disciples (BD). His murder at age 11 by fellow gang members in Chicago garnered national attention because of his age, resulting in his appearing on the cover of Time magazine in September 1994. 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.

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.

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 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.

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. The only photo that his family could find of him was his mug shot.

The two Hardaway brothers were later convicted of Robert Sandifer's murder. Derrick was released from prison in December 2016. Cragg was released from prison in December 2020. Cragg died at age 47 on August 14, 2026.

In popular media Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, a graphic novel