Woman, boyfriend accused of ‘unfathomable’ abuse and death of 6-year-old boy

DETROIT (WXYZ) – Prosecutors in Oakland County, Michigan called the case one of the worst child abuse cases they’ve ever seen.

The horrific death of a boy has now led to allegations of child abuse and murder.

Daniel Giacchina’s grandmother, Anne Nix, said 6-year-old Giovanni “Chulo” Jennings was cornered in a bedroom as a form of punishment.

“It was very bad. I understand he was very mean to his brother,” Nix claimed

Nix lives in the Ackels mobile home community off Dequindre Road in Madison Heights. It’s the same place where prosecutors say Giovanni suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen and a perforated intestine after a long period of detention and child abuse.

“One day when I was at home, I heard her scolding him, slapping him with a belt,” Nix described.

Nix was adamant she didn’t know Oakland County District Attorney Karen McDonald had charged her grandson Giacchina, 32, and the child’s mother, Elaina Jennings, 25, with first-degree murder and abuse And on the children.

“Photographs taken during the autopsy in Wayne County showed that Chulo had bruises and lacerations all over his body,” McDonald said.

Police say a 911 call on July 30 by Giovanni’s mother led to him being found not breathing. He was pronounced dead a day later at the hospital.

“Both Giacchina and Jennings watched video clips of Chulo citing ‘misbehavior,’ which would include Chulo trying to urinate, drink or leave the corner,” McDonald added.

Prosecutors say that after the initial allegations of lying to police were filed, they discovered video evidence showing the boy was shot with a shotgun and pinned to a bedroom wall using a staple gun.

Giovanni began vomiting from his injuries, investigators say.

“Both Jennings and Giacchina laughed about the photo and Giacchina’s use of the staple gun to solve the ‘problem,’” McDonald described.

Prosecutors said Jennings also lied, telling police the boy was with his biological father, who was not involved, instead of Giacchina.

Next-door neighbor Jolene Szydlowski said she was in disbelief.

“Oh, it’s heartbreaking, and to know that there was torture, to know that that boy was tortured, it’s incomprehensible,” Szydlowski said. “How can a mother do this to their child?”

The suspects were placed in jail without bail. A court hearing is set for August 21.

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