A six-year-old Michigan boy is dead after suffering “horrific” abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, with police saying he was mercilessly beaten, stapled to a wall, and shot with a BB gun.
Police discovered Giovanny “Chulo” Jennings unconscious and injured in his Madison Heights mobile home on July 30 after his mother, Elaina Rose Jennings, called to report that he was not breathing, WDIV reported.
Jennings, 25, and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Daniel John Giacchina, were charged with murder after the little boy died in the hospital the next day.
“He died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen and a perforated bowel after a lengthy period of confinement and abuse,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.
Autopsy photos revealed many disturbing wounds that Chulo had sustained over time, including bruising and lacerations all over his whole body.
“Chulo had pervasive bruising to his abdomen, which was also bloated and distended,” McDonald said. “He had an apparent BB wound to his shin. First responders and emergency room personnel noted extensive external injuries, as well.”
Investigators uncovered more horrifying details upon reviewing evidence, including text messages, Facebook chats, and photos, and McDonald alleges that the couple committed a “pattern of abuse that led to Chulo’s death.”
“We have spent over 100 hours reviewing extremely disturbing videos and photos, as well as text messages and Facebook chats describing the horrific things that happened to this 6-year-old boy,” the prosecutor said.
“As we carefully sifted through the evidence, what we found can only be described as horrific.”
The household included Chulo’s two younger siblings as well as Giacchina’s grandmother.
Giacchina is accused of frequently beating the six-year-old and confining him to a “pen” with the approval of Jennings.
“For punishment, Chulo was confined to a pen in a corner of Giacchina’s and Jennings’ bedroom, where he was left to try and sleep on a wooden slat, measuring 11 inches by 36 inches,” McDonald said. “A black curtain was put in place so Chulo couldn’t see out, and barricades were used to keep him in place.”
A home security camera was kept pointed towards what the couple referred to as “the corner,” where investigators said they observed Chulo as he suffered there.
“Both Giacchina and Jennings would watch video clips of Chulo ‘misbehaving,’ which would include Chulo trying to urinate, drink, or leave the corner,” McDonald said.
Giacchina allegedly stapled the child to the wall by his clothing to keep him facing the corner on July 26, police said.
“He texted Jennings that he had solved the problem of keeping Chulo’s face toward the wall, sending her a photo of Chulo stapled into the corner of the pen,” McDonald alleged. “That photo shows the shoulders of Chulo’s shirt stapled to the edges of the corner in such a manner that Chulo’s body, along with his head and face, were wedged into the corner of the wall.
“Both Jennings and Giacchina laughed about the photo and Giacchina’s use of the staple gun to solve ‘the problem.’ According to the text, Chulo was being punished in this manner for looking out the window in the pen area,” McDonald said.
Police also said they discovered a 9mm semiautomatic ghost gun and over 100 rounds of ammunition in the home, which investigators said were handled inappropriately in a house full of small children.
A photo discovered on one of Giacchina’s and Jennings’ phones showed the man with two of the young children who were handling the 9mm and the BB gun, McDonald said.
Another picture found on Jennings’ phone, dated July 26, showed two children both pointing a gun at a third child.
“The third child had his hand up, and the laser from the ghost gun was illuminating his hand,” WDIV reported of the prosecutor’s allegations.
It is unclear which child was being held at gunpoint.
One of the siblings, a four-year-old boy, told an interviewer at Care House, a local child advocacy nonprofit, that “Danny” had shot him in the leg and Chulo in the buttocks with the BB gun.
McDonald quoted the boy as saying, “Chulo died all day, and Danny was there” after his older brother died.
Investigators also said that an unrelated five-year-old child was also frequently left in Giacchina’s care when Jennings was at work.
“While that abuse sometimes happened while Jennings was at work, Jennings was aware of it and approved of the physical assaults, and, at times, even encouraged Giacchina to abuse Chulo,” the prosecutor said.
Giacchina was originally charged with possession of firearms by a prohibited person, felony firearm violation, possession of ammunition by a felon, and lying to a peace officer after Chulo was taken to the hospital.
Jennings was also charged with lying to a peace officer as prosecutors alleged the couple conspired to blame the child’s injuries on his biological father.
“The allegations are that Jennings falsely told police that she left Chulo with his biological father when she went to work that morning, and that Chulo was uninjured prior to being with his father,” McDonald said.
Chulo’s father was arrested but quickly let go when investigators realized he was not with the boy that day and there was no evidence to prove that he had any part in the abuse.
Prosecutors added on murder and first degree child abuse charges for both Giacchina and Jennings on Friday, and they remain in the Oakland County Jail without bond.
If convicted, they could face life in prison.
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