MADISON HEIGHTS, Michigan. – A 6-year-old Oakland County boy was barricaded in the corner of a bedroom, stapled to the wall and shot with a pellet gun before dying at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, officials said.

Oakland County District Attorney Karen McDonald announced new charges against Elaina Rose Jennings, 25, and Daniel John Giacchina, 32, both of Madison Heights, on Friday, August 9, 2024.

Jennings was the mother of 6-year-old Giovanny “Chulo” Jennings and Giacchina is her boyfriend.

Death of a six-year-old

Madison Heights Police and Fire Departments were called to a trailer park in the 25000 block of Dequindre Road at 2:34 p.m. on July 30, 2024.

Jennings had called 911 to report that Giovanny was not breathing. When officers arrived, they found the child unconscious and with injuries all over her body.

Giovanny was taken by ambulance to Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital and then transferred to Children’s Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries around midnight on July 31.

Jennings and Giacchina were both taken into custody.

Giacchina was charged with:

• Possession of firearms by an unauthorized person is a crime punishable by five years in prison.

• A serious violation of the weapons law – a prison sentence of two years.

• Possession of ammunition by a felon – a crime punishable by five years in prison.

• Lying to a peace officer – a misdemeanor punishable by two years in prison.

Jennings was charged with lying to a peace officer.

Madison Heights authorities considered the child’s death suspicious and launched an investigation.

Autopsy results

WARNING: The details of the abuse provided by the prosecutor are drastic and disturbing.

An autopsy by the Wayne County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Giovanny was murdered.

“He died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and a perforated intestine after prolonged captivity and abuse,” McDonald said.

Photos taken during the autopsy show that Giovanny had bruises and cuts all over her body, including on her scalp, temples, lips, inside of her mouth, cheeks, forehead, chin, shoulder, forearms, fingers, thumbs, back, buttocks, inner thighs, knees and shins, McDonald said.

“Chulo had bruising all over his abdomen, which was also bloated and swollen,” McDonald said. “He had an obvious BB wound on his shin. First responders and paramedics also found extensive external injuries.”

Additional fees

Friday’s press conference was to announce additional charges against Jennings and Giacchina.

Both are now charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with Giovanny’s death. These charges can carry a life sentence.

“It was clear from the evidence we saw that there was a pattern of abuse that led to Chulo’s death,” McDonald said.

This charge was approved after an extensive review of evidence, which included cell phones, photographs and items seized during the search.

“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 six-year-old boy,” McDonald said.

There was also an arrest warrant for Giacchina on weapons charges from Madison Heights.

Jennings and Giacchina continue to face charges of lying to police, and Giacchina continues to face the weapons offenses listed above.

Graphic details of the abuse

Prosecutors said Giovanny, whom McDonald nicknamed “Chulo,” was handcuffed to a pen in Giacchina and Jennings’ bedroom.

He was beaten in front of his two younger siblings, McDonald said.

“When we carefully reviewed the evidence, all we could find was the horrific,” McDonald said.

Giovanny lived in the house with his two younger siblings, Jennings, Giacchina and Giacchina’s grandmother, prosecutors said.

When Jennings went to work, authorities said, Giovanny often stayed with Giacchina, who also looked after her two younger siblings and an unrelated five-year-old child.

“Chulo was beaten by Giacchina on numerous occasions,” McDonald said. “Although this abuse sometimes occurred while Jennings was at work, Jennings was aware of and condoned the physical attacks. At times, he even encouraged Giacchina to abuse Chulo.”

The abuse included physical violence and assault, including shooting Giovanny with an air rifle, McDonald said.

“As punishment, Chulo was locked in a pen in the corner of Giacchina and Jennings’ bedroom, where he was forced to sleep on a 11-by-36-inch wooden slat,” McDonald said. “A black curtain was put up to prevent Chulo from seeing out, and he was kept in place with barricades.”

Giacchina purchased a security system for his home and installed a camera to monitor the area the couple referred to as “the corner,” which prosecutors said was the pen where they kept the boy.

“Both Giacchina and Jennings viewed video clips of Chulo’s ‘misbehavior,’ such as Chulo attempting to urinate, drink or leave the corner,” McDonald said.

She said Giacchina stapled Giovanny to the wall by his clothing on July 26 to force him into a corner and position his head facing the wall.

“He wrote to Jennings that he had solved the problem of keeping Chulo’s face to the wall by sending her a photo of Chulo stapled to the corner of the enclosure,” McDonald said. “In this photo, you can see the shoulders of Chulo’s shirt stapled to the edges of the corner in such a way that Chulo’s body, along with his head and face, were squashed into the corner of the wall.

“Both Jennings and Giacchina laughed at the photo and Giacchina’s use of the stapler to solve ‘the problem.’ According to the text, this was Chulo’s way of being punished for looking out the window in the stable area.”

When officers searched the house, they said they found marks in the wall that were consistent with a stapler.

They said they also found holes in the bullet that contained BBs.

Items seized from the house included a stapler, an air rifle and CO2 cartridges.

Weapon found in apartment

Police said they also found a 9mm semi-automatic ghost gun and over 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition in the house.

A photo on a phone shows Giacchina with two small children fiddling with the ghost gun and air rifle, McDonald said.

A photo on Jennings’ phone dated July 26, 2024, shows two children each pointing a gun at a third child, prosecutors said. The third child had his hand raised and the ghost gun’s laser illuminated his hand.

4-year-old brother

Giovanny’s four-year-old brother was interviewed at Care House, a child welfare center in Oakland County.

In interviews he said that “Danny” shot him in the leg with an air rifle and showed them his injury.

He also said that “Danny” shot Giovanny in the buttocks with an air rifle.

“The 4-year-old explained that on the day of Chulo’s death, ‘Chulo was dead all day and Danny was there,'” McDonald said.

Abdominal injuries

During her questioning by authorities, Jennings stated that Giacchina had punched the boy several times in the stomach about three days before his death.

She told police that the beatings had caused Giovanny to vomit.

According to authorities, Giovanny’s condition worsened until July 30, when Jennings said she found him unconscious in Giacchina’s presence.

“Jennings admitted that she knew Chulo was in urgent need of medical attention, but she did not take him to a hospital because she knew that a medical examination would reveal the abuse he had been subjected to,” McDonald said.

Giacchina and Jennings were both present and lived in the house throughout the abuse, McDonald said.

Trying to blame the father

The original charges of lying to police stem from a conspiracy to blame Giovanni’s condition on the child’s 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 unharmed before he was with his father,” McDonald said.

Based on this information, investigators arrested Chulo’s father, but McDonald said they quickly learned that he had not been near Giovanny that day.

Officials said they realized Jennings had made false statements. There was no evidence that Giovanni’s father was involved in the crimes, McDonald said.

“Further investigation revealed that Giacchina and Jennings conspired to falsely tell police that Chulo’s biological father was last seen with Chulo,” McDonald said.

Madison Heights Police Chief Brent LeMerise confirmed that three people were arrested in the case, but the biological father was released.

Indictment

Jennings and Giacchina were arraigned Friday morning in 43rd District Court in Ferndale.

They were denied bail and remain in the Oakland County Jail.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for August 21, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in the 43rd District Court.

You can watch Friday’s full briefing below..