MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — "I was devastated. It was heartbreaking," said Jolene Szydlowski about the death of a little boy who lived next door to her family for the last few months.
"I guess she took it too far when she paddled his butt," Szydlowski said, responding to what may have started out as punishment for the 6-year-old but turned deadly.
The boy's mother and her boyfriend, who is not the child's father, remained in custody Friday.
A few months ago, we're told the mother and her three children moved in with her boyfriend and his grandmother into their home on Dequindre near 10 Mile Road in Madison Heights.
On Tuesday, someone in the home called 911 to report the six-year-old boy not breathing. When police and EMS arrived, they said they found severe physical injuries on the child.
The boy's mother and her boyfriend were both taken into custody. His mother, Elaina Jennings, faces a charge of lying to a peace officer. Her boyfriend, Daniel Giacchina faces three weapons-related charges and one charge of lying to a peace officer.
Szydlowski said the man's grandmother told her that about a week before the 911 call, the boy's mother struck him with a belt as some sort of punishment, adding that she may have gone too far.
The grandmother reportedly said the child woke up and was throwing up discolored fluids before passing out and falling to the ground.
First responders rushed the boy to the nearest hospital. He was then transported to Children's Hospital in Detroit, where he died from his injuries.
Szydlowski said the boyfriend's grandmother described the child's injuries as welts on his legs and arms so severe that an impression of the belt's buckle was left on his skin.
Despite the boy's injuries, a cause of death has not yet been determined.
The boy's mother and her boyfriend remain in police custody as we wait to see if one or both could face charges in connection with her son's death.
