Michigan mom, boyfriend charged with death of 6-year-old son found stapled to wall, shot multiple times with BB gun, tortured while younger siblings looked on

Six-year-old Giovanni “Chulo” Jennings is dead after a short life of torture and child abuse. His parents, Elana Jennings, 25 and her boyfriend Daniel Giacchina are accused of killing him. Madison Heights, Mich. police have charged the two with one count each of first-degree murder, child abuse and lying to a police officer.

The slain boy’s four-year-old brother is assisting police to try to document the record of abuse that saw the child beaten, shot with a BB gun and, incredibly, stapled to a wall, before he died of a ruptured bowel.

The couple accused of torturing and murdering the young boy allegedly videotaped Giovanni trying to escape the area where he was trapped and forced to sleep on a wooden plank that was three feet long and 11 inches wide. Then they entertained themselves by watching the videos.

The couple attempted to blame the boy’s natural father for the death but the slain youngster’s brother repudiated that story, relating what really happened.

"Chulo died all day and Danny was there," the four-year-old explained. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald described the couple's alleged treatment of their son as "horrific." 

“An autopsy revealed Chulo had bruising and lacerations on his entire body, including his scalp, temples, lips, inner mouth, cheeks, forehead, chin, shoulder, forearms, fingers, thumbs, back, buttocks, inner thighs, knees and shins," said said in a press conference. “Chulo was beaten by Giacchina on multiple occasions,” she said.

“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," McDonald said.

“Days before his death, the boy had his head wedged into a corner of the pen before being stapled in his clothes to the wall by his step-dad as a punishment for 'looking out the window in the pen area,'" McDonald explained.

A text from Giacchina to Jennings allegedly followed that said he had “solved the problem.” A photo of the boy suspended from the wall accompanied the transmission. A police search of the home revealed a staple gun, a BB gun, a 9mm ghost gun, and bullet holes in the walls, McDonald said.

Chulo died after being punched in the stomach repeatedly. After he began vomiting he stopped breathing on July 30, prompting the mother to call 911.