Mom Loves New Man Who “Fixes Problems” By Stapling Her Dying Son to The Wall

Mom Loves New Man Who “Fixes Problems” By Stapling Her Dying Son to The Wall

Giovanni Jennings was born on October 17, 2017, to mother Elena Jennings, and he had two siblings. He had big brown eyes, long eyelashes, and brown hair. His nickname was “Chulo,” which in this case means cute or cool, and he certainly was, especially when he smiled so wide that the dimples on both of his cheeks were visible. His mother called him “little man” and said he was her handsome baby boy. In pictures from his early life, he was independent and perhaps a little headstrong. Before he could walk, he was already a performer, sticking his tongue out and making faces when his mom tried to take his picture. When he was walking, Elena posted a picture of him carefully aiming the garden hose to spray water in his baby swimming pool. She wrote, “On a hot day like this, little man is already filling up his pool without Mama’s help. He sure is too big for 10 months.”

His stepfather, Esteban Cabrera, said Giovanni was an amazing child who liked to run and play. In videos Esteban posted online, he joked with Giovanni and his brother, asking them to say good morning to the camera. Though he seemed a little shy at first, Giovanni’s face lit up when he said good morning, and both boys laughed when Esteban asked them to say the words “Taco,” “chimichanga,” and “chalupa.” In that short, silly moment, all three of them were clearly happy.

Not much has been made public about Giovanni’s early life, but we have pieced together what we could. Elena was around 18 years old when she got pregnant and seemed excited for it. She posted online in June of 2017 about turning her life around and getting a job. She said, “Good things happen when you listen to family. I never wanted to listen to my family, especially to my brother,” she admitted. “I grew up too fast, trying to live that adult life way too soon. It didn’t get me anywhere. I always wanted to live that adult life, but it didn’t go too good. My brother always tried being there for me, trying to help me out in so many ways, trying to get me out of the bad life. I regret it now. I’m in a situation where I need someone there for me that can help me out. I am thankful for him because I really wouldn’t be this far if I never listened. My life is getting on track, finally getting all my stuff together, forgetting about my past, forgetting about all the problems I had before. Finally getting a job where I can earn money and save up and do good for myself. Going to live the life I always wanted and I can and will get there, thanks to him.”

A few weeks later, she posted a picture of a sonogram. A few months later, in October, Giovanni was born. When he was little, Elena focused on being a good mother. She dressed him up in cute outfits, posted baby pictures, and often mentioned how much she loved him. She said that time seemed to be flying by and that she finally understood why people said their kids grew up too fast. Now, sometime in 2019, she gave birth to a second son. Pictures from 2020 showed Giovanni hugging his little brother and playing with him. Though she doesn’t mention what she had been through, her posts alluded to hard times, and she was again committed to becoming a better person and straightening her life out.

Sometime after that, she met Esteban Cabrera, and the two began a serious relationship. They moved into a house in Southwest Detroit and lived together as a family. He treated Giovanni and his brother as his sons, and according to his posts on social media, he loved them like his own flesh and blood. Now, sometime in 2022, he and Elena had a daughter together, but over time they started arguing, and their relationship grew strained. In March of 2024, 25-year-old Elena took all the kids and moved out. It’s likely that she started her relationship with Daniel Giattina around this time, and her relationship with the 32-year-old quickly became serious.

Before they met, Daniel was going through difficult times of his own. In 2022, he pled guilty to selling illegal substances and intimidating a witness, and he was sentenced to two years on parole. In May of 2023, he was arrested for fleeing an officer while still on parole, and in late 2023, he had been living with his 74-year-old grandmother, Anne, when their house caught fire and burned to the ground. From his comments, it seemed like he had a different girlfriend at this time—not Elena—and she and her kids were living with Anne as well.

In early December, a few weeks before Christmas, the house fire left them all homeless. Anne posted the following message on GoFundMe asking for donations: “Hey there, my name is Anne, I’m 74, and this devastates me. It’s come to this, but me and my grandson’s house burnt down about two weeks ago with no rental insurance and we are having a very difficult time making ends meet and keeping the roof overhead, paying for room and board and a hotel until we could find somewhere to move. We also have to support animals, one that was saved in the fire that just had puppies right after the fire. We are asking for donations for help to keep a safe roof over our head. It’s very cold, it is winter in Michigan, and we lost everything. Right now, our main priority is keeping a roof over our head. Any donations will be highly appreciated. God bless you all. I know everything happens for a reason; it will be a light at the end of this tunnel. I don’t like asking for help, but please help us.”

She said they had been able to get help for food and clothes, but no one was able to help with housing. She wasn’t able to rent anywhere because her credit score was so low, so they all ended up in a motel. They were supposed to pay about $350 a week to stay there, but according to posts on the GoFundMe site, they had fallen behind on those payments as well. Donations did not pour in; in fact, they only raised a total of $275, not even enough to cover a week-long stay. They asked the owner of the motel to work with them, but he seemed frustrated by the situation. One of the updates to the GoFundMe campaign included pictures of a text conversation with him. It read: “Hi Daniel, I want to help you. I’m willing to be reasonable to help you out till you find a suitable alternative, but I can’t have late payments. It’s not sustainable. Your grandma says she has no money to pay, but that’s not my fault. After all, I’m only able to provide guests with a roof over their head if they pay on time. It’s not charitable housing. All I ask is timely payments, no complaints, especially about dog noise or about extra people living in the room, etc. Keeping the room clean, following just basic rules that guests sign up for when they first check in. Happy to have you in our motel as long as there’s no trouble and payments are on time, especially if you find a suitable, reasonable alternative. The only reasonable precondition is payments need to be made on time and no complaints follow rules. One more complaint and I’ll start to lose business over this, and I can’t have that. I personally have zero issues with you to start with; you should make your payments already. That’s basic even before we get into other things. One more chance, I help you and you help me.”

The extra people in the room wouldn’t be a problem for long. According to another update Daniel made on January 6, his girlfriend ended their relationship when she and her kids were able to find other housing. He seemed angry and frustrated in the update, saying—and I’ll try to read this as cohesively as I can—”At the beginning of this campaign, it was a whole family: two kids, me, and my partner, and my grandmother, and our dogs. Now that mine and my grandma’s house burnt down that my girlfriend was living in with her kids, my girlfriend tore apart our family and moved on. She has acquired her own house already because she has kids. I feel like we were just being used. Literally got messages of her throwing in my face, ‘That’s why I got a house and you don’t.’ I don’t know what you want from me now, but I lost a woman I loved and invested in, along with those kids in the house fire, and it’s like she turned into somebody totally different. Just before this house fire, we were to get married, wanted kids, we were starting businesses together, and had future plans. Come to find out, I was just being led on and played. So our update is, me and my grandma pretty much have had everything taken from us and are still asking for help because right now we’re so mentally messed up I don’t know what to do now.”

I’m sure you’re well aware that homelessness is no joke; maybe you or someone that you know has experienced it at some point. Now, many of us are living one paycheck from the street, and something like a house fire could be disastrous. The issue of homelessness is extremely important to us, and we like to support charities in our area that help those in need. It’s also important for us to work with sponsors that share that vision with us, and thankfully we found that with Magic Mind. With so many distractions in the world, which makes it difficult to focus on what you actually want to be doing, what if you could be efficient while also having an enjoyable day? Well, now you can. Magic Mind is a mental performance shot; now, think of it as an addition to your daily routine. Magic Mind helps you focus, clears your head while keeping you motivated and stress-free. I like to drink it straight from the bottle, but you can enjoy Magic Mind over ice or in your favorite smoothie. Magic Mind has really helped me out with some of the brain fog that I’ve experienced with Lyme disease. Best of all, Magic Mind donates 5 cents for each bottle sold to mental health charities that help homeless communities here in the US. We’ll also be donating part of the proceeds of this ad to the Trinity Jubilee Center in our hometown of Lewiston. Magic Mind is so confident that you’ll love their product that they’ll refund 100% within 100 days of purchase, no questions asked. Magic Mind has a limited-time offer that you can use now that gets you 48% off your first subscription or 20% off a one-time purchase with our code MISERYMACHINE20 at checkout. Just visit magicmind.com/miserymachine to claim it today. Even better, the first 10 listeners to use our code get a free Misery Machine t-shirt. Thanks, and back to the episode.

Eventually, Daniel and Anne were able to find housing in the AAL mobile home park on Dindra Road in southeast Michigan. A few months later, Elena and her three kids moved into the mobile home with Daniel and Anne. Not long after, Giovanni started getting into trouble. Anne also told reporters that Giovanni was put in the corner when he misbehaved. When asked what he had done to deserve such punishment, this is what she said: “He was being punished in the bedroom.” When asked how he was being punished, she replied, “I was told that he was put in the corner.” When asked why this child was being punished, she said, “He was being real bad.” When asked if she was home when he was being punished, she said, “I understand that he was being real bad to his brother.” When asked if she saw anything that made her think he was in danger, she said, “No.”

In the bedroom Elena shared with Daniel, a corner was set aside to discipline Giovanni, though many might use the word “torture” instead. In text messages, they referred to it as “the corner.” This might not sound unusual; plenty of parents ask their kids to take a time-out when they are misbehaving and might ask them to sit in a corner. I had this done to me growing up, but this was much more serious than a simple time-out. Allegedly, the couple barricaded him in the corner, blocking off part of the room to trap him there. A black curtain covered the area so he couldn’t see out. Allegedly, Daniel bought a security camera and mounted it on the wall, pointed it at the corner so they could both monitor him through video on their phones.

A typical time-out for 6-year-old Giovanni would last about 6 minutes, one minute for each year of his age. Evidence shows that he spent much longer lengths of time confined to his pen and even slept in there. He had no bed whatsoever and was forced to sleep on a wooden slat only 11 inches wide and 3 feet long. During his confinement, he wasn’t allowed to do anything. He was not even allowed to look out the window without further punishment, and he wasn’t safe when he was out of his pen either. When Elena went to work, she left Daniel in charge of the children. To Giovanni’s 4-year-old brother, Daniel encouraged the young children to play with a BB gun and a “ghost gun” that he owned. For those that don’t know, a ghost gun is usually put together from a kit, so it isn’t registered and doesn’t have a serial number, but it can be just as deadly as a regular weapon. In this case, Daniel’s gun was a fully functional 9mm with a laser scope. He also had over 100 rounds of live ammunition, and he encouraged the kids to play with it like it was a toy. Photos found at the home showed Daniel looking on as the children played with the gun and pointed it at each other. In one image, two of the kids pointed the gun at another child, and the light from the gun’s laser scope can be seen illuminating his raised hand.

When he wasn’t encouraging violent play, Daniel was being violent himself. Giovanni’s brother said Daniel shot him in the leg with a BB gun and even showed the interviewer the wound caused by the shot. He claimed his brother was shot, too. Police collected video evidence to support the statement, and they found holes in the walls near the corner—Giovanni’s corner where he was punished—that still had BBs in them. Daniel also allegedly beat Giovanni on several occasions, in addition to confining him. These punishments were given to the 6-year-old for things like having to go to the bathroom, trying to get a drink of water, and trying to get out of the corner.

On July 26, Daniel caught Giovanni committing the crime of looking out the window. Angry that the boy wasn’t standing in the corner with his face pressed against the wall, Daniel allegedly decided to make the preschooler stay in the corner by stapling him to the wall. Using a staple gun, Daniel fastened the shoulders of Giovanni’s shirt to the wall, wedging his head and face into the corner. Apparently proud of his handiwork, he texted Elena to tell her that he had solved the problem and included a picture of the boy hanging from the wall. They both reportedly thought the situation was funny.

The next day, on July 27, Elena said Daniel punched Giovanni in the stomach three times, causing the boy to throw up. Over the next 3 days, he kept getting sicker and sicker. Later, Elena would tell police she knew he needed medical help, but she didn’t take him to the hospital because she knew the doctors would see all of his injuries and she and Daniel would get into trouble. Now, at around 2:30 p.m. on July 30, Elena finally called 911 because he had stopped breathing. When first responders arrived at the home on Dindra Road, they found him unresponsive with cuts and bruises all over his body. They were able to restart his breathing and rushed him to the nearest hospital. They transferred him, still clinging to life, to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Stilson Specialty Center.

His stepfather, Esteban, was allowed to visit him there. He was horrified to see how badly the little boy had been hurt. He said, “He was so unrecognizable. His head was almost double the size, his eyes were so swollen.” He stayed at Giovanni’s bedside that night and into the next. Around midnight on July 31, Giovanni died from his injuries. In a post online, Esteban said, “My heart is completely shattered right now. There’s no words I have to try to explain the pain it feels to lose a child. My son died in my arms last night. His mom and her new boyfriend beat my six-year-old son to death. My heart is broken into a million pieces. How can someone do that to a child, by his own mother? I hope you rot in hell.”

Elena told the police that when she went to work that morning, she had left Giovanni with someone else for the day, and that this babysitter must have done something to hurt the boy. Daniel told the police the same thing. Some news reports say the person they blamed was the biological father, but none revealed the name of the person who was accused. Officers tracked down and arrested the suspect but soon uncovered evidence that he hadn’t been anywhere near the boy at the time he was injured, so he has not been named. Understandably, Giovanni’s younger brother helped police understand what really happened. He was interviewed at Care House—this is an organization that helps interview and provide therapy for child victims of child abuse. He told the interviewer what he had seen the last day he spent with his brother. He said, “Chulo died all day, and Dany was there.”

Police soon cleared their first suspect of any wrongdoing and released him. Since Elena and Daniel had conspired to mislead authorities, they were both arrested and charged with lying to a police officer. This is a felony crime with a sentence of up to 2 years in prison. Because of a previous felony conviction, Daniel was not allowed to own guns or ammunition, so they also charged him with a felony possession of a weapon based on the items found in his home. Elena was questioned again after arrest and eventually admitted that she saw Daniel punch Giovanni in the stomach about 3 days before his death. These blows are likely what perforated his bowel, allowing intestinal contents to start leaking into his body, which can cause a massive infection, and did in this case. Emergency surgery and antibiotics would have given him a chance at survival; with no medical help, the infection spread unchecked.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said that investigators spent hundreds of hours going through the wealth of digital evidence on the couple’s cell phones, including pictures, videos, and text messages. She alleged that both Daniel and Elena watched video clips of Giovanni confined to the corner and that they both laughed at the image of the boy stapled to the wall. That and other evidence collected from her cell phone indicated that she was aware of what Daniel was doing to her son. In a press conference about the murder, Prosecutor McDonald said, “While that child abuse sometimes happened while she was at work, she was aware of it and approved of the physical assaults, and at times even encouraged Daniel to abuse Giovanni.”

On August 9, the couple were both charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Both charges could result in a sentence of life in prison if convicted. They were both denied bail and are currently being held in the Oakland County Jail. Everyone working on the case has decades and decades of experience, but even so, Prosecutor McDonald said that it was—and I’m quoting here—”one of the worst cases we’ve ever seen.” She said the evidence established a horrific pattern of abuse. “The victim in this case is Giovanni Jennings, known by his family as Chulo. Chulo was six years old, and he died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen and a perforated bowel after a lengthy period of confinement. And the Wayne County Medical Examiner determined that the manner of death was homicide.”

“Last week, my office filed charges against his mother, Elena Jennings, and her boyfriend, Daniel Giattina, for lying to the police, and additional charges against defendant Giattina for improperly possessing weapons and ammunition because he was already a convicted felon. But it was clear from the evidence that we saw that there was a pattern of abuse that led to Chulo’s death. My office, in conjunction with the Madison Heights Police Department, has spent the last week performing an intensive review of every piece of available evidence, including cell phone evidence, photos, and evidence that was seized in search warrants. Combined, 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. Everyone standing up here, including myself, were a part of the 100 hours of review. His siblings were present for and witnessed much of that abuse, and a complete review of the digital evidence continues.”

“Chulo’s four-year-old brother was interviewed at Care House. For those of you who don’t know, Care House is a Child Advocacy Center in Oakland County. My office has an experienced prosecutor dedicated to Care House, and who attends forensic interviews there, and that’s Lauren Beninger. I cannot express the importance of Care House and how fortunate we are in this county to have this highly qualified professional organization who interview and provide therapy for child victims. I also want to thank the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department who assisted in this investigation as we carefully sifted through the evidence. What we found can only be described as horrific.”

“The allegations are that Chulo was confined to a pen in the defendant’s bedroom; he was beaten; he was bound to the wall by using a staple gun to staple his clothes to the wall, which forced his face into a corner. He was badly injured, but he was not taken for medical treatment because his mother knew that a medical examination would reveal the abuse. And that information is all an allegation that was already in the public forum on the record in the sworn statement.”

“Based on that additional evidence, today my office amended the charges against the defendants to include murder and child abuse in the first degree.” At autopsy, it was found that Giovanni was malnourished and significantly underweight, and his belly was bruised, bloated, and distended. The medical examiner noted an apparent BB wound to his shin. An autopsy photo showed extensive bruising and cuts all over the front and back, from his head all the way down his legs. According to Prosecutor McDonald, they found injuries on his scalp, temples, lips, inner mouth, cheeks, forehead, chin, shoulders, forearms, fingers, thumbs, back, buttocks, inner thighs, knees, and shins. His cause of death was blunt force trauma to his abdomen and a perforated bowel caused by that trauma. His death wasn’t quick; it happened slowly and painfully over the course of days while his mother refused to take him to get help. His manner of death was homicide.

Elena’s attorney, Jordan Zupka, released the following statement about his client: “This is a devastating and complex case. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. At this time, we remind the public that Elena Jennings is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. We trust the legal process to thoroughly examine all the evidence, and we ask that people allow the facts to be fully reviewed before drawing any conclusion. Out of respect for the investigation and privacy of those involved, we will not be making further comments at this time.”

At the start of her press conference, Prosecutor McDonald also reminded everyone that defendants are innocent until proven guilty and that all the allegations still have to be proven in a court of law. She and her staff are committed to getting justice for Giovanni. She said, “All children have a right to grow up in a home free of fear. This child and his siblings suffered unimaginable abuse and lived in fear every day. My office and the Madison Heights Police Department are committed to using every resource available to us to get justice for Chulo, and hold the people responsible for this death accountable, and to seek punishment that reflects the horror of his death.”

When asked what the public could do to keep this from happening to other children, she said, “We need to know and keep track of our children. We need to know and keep track of our children who are in public schools, and when they are taken out, we need to inquire about what happened to them. The people around kids, whether you’re a neighbor, a teacher, or a coach, just somebody in the grocery store line, if you see something that concerns you, you should absolutely report it to the Child Protective Services or the police.”

Unfortunately, as we all know too well, justice moves very slowly sometimes. As such, there is no trial date set as of yet. It will be months, potentially years, before Giovanni gets the justice he deserves. Neighbors in the small Acles mobile home park are shocked by a crime that happened right under their noses. Next-door neighbor Jolene Zidlowski said she couldn’t understand it. She said, “Oh, that’s heartbreaking. And to know that there was torture… that boy was tortured… that’s unfathomable. How can a mother do that to their kid?” She said that Daniel’s grandmother, Anne, had told her about a beating Elena had given Giovanni after he got out of the shower. “I was devastated; it was harrowing, it really was.” Jolene Zidlowski was horrified to hear about the last days of a little boy’s life after he had been struck multiple times with what may have been a belt. “And I guess she took it too far when she belted his butt. Then Tuesday afternoon, someone in the home called 911 to report the six-year-old boy not breathing. I guess he woke up and was throwing up something brown, and then he just passed out, fell to the ground. After he got out of the shower, she took him in the bedroom and paddled him, but she could see the welts on him. Oh, you could see them over his legs, his arms, his butt cheeks—the belt, you know, impression, the buckle.”

There have been no public memorials or vigils arranged for Giovanni, but an obituary was released by the R.C. Alex and Sons Funeral Home listing David Reyes as his father. David has made no public statement about his loss, though he may make an impact statement at trial. According to the obituary, the family had a private service for him on August 14, 2024.

Giovanni’s stepfather, Esteban, is devastated by his death. In the months after she left, Elena often wouldn’t let him see the children, not even his biological daughter. But when he did see them, he knew something was wrong. A member of our Misery Machine community found one of his posts in the comment section of a Fox News article about the crime. In it, Esteban said he tried to get help by contacting the authorities, but they wouldn’t get involved. He said, “I contacted CPS 3 months ago alleging medical neglect and child neglect. They didn’t do anything, and now my son is dead 3 months later.” He couldn’t save Giovanni, but he is committed to keeping the other two children safe. He now has custody of the daughter he shared with Elena and wants to stay in Giovanni’s brother’s life.

On August 1, he posted the following update about the situation online: “I appreciate all the support from each and every one of you. There is a lot of information that I still haven’t gotten yet. The information I have received is completely devastating and is extremely graphic. As of right now, I have custody of my biological daughter, but unfortunately, due to my ongoing legal status here in the United States, Giovanni’s brother has been placed in foster care. Currently, his uncle is about to be assisted by Child Protective Services and is likely going to be placed in his care. But as of right now, he is not with me. He will have visitations with his sister, my daughter, twice a week, so he is not completely gone. I’ll be creating a GoFundMe in the next few days if anyone would like to help towards his funeral. Unfortunately, his mother still has legal rights over his body, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to have a ceremony with his ashes present. His body is still being examined due to the extreme nature of this case. I will also be making a GoFundMe for any who would like to help towards any expenses for my son and my daughter. Thank you once again.”

Now, we have searched GoFundMe, but as of the date of this recording, Giovanni’s campaign has not been posted. If you have found it, please put it below; we can put it in the comment, and we want to make a donation ourselves to it, so please, if you find it, let us know immediately. There were many people who loved Giovanni, but not all of them were always allowed to be part of his life. Once the relationship with his mother, Elena, changed, some of the family was left behind. In the wake of his loss, those searching for ways to grieve his death have posted messages. His grandmother, Carrie Neo, posted her goodbye message on his online tribute page. She said, “Hello, I’m the grandma of Chulo, which he called me Mimi. I’m already at a loss of words of this happening to you. I’ve been through everything with you, grandson, since birth. RIP my precious grandson. You will be forever in my heart. I love you. I know you’re in heaven now until I see you again. Love, Mimi.”