14 DAY TRIAL // A woman has killed her own grandchild, bludgeoning him with a sledgehammer and slitting his throat, in a quiet suburb of Chicago.
Oak Lawn police have arrested 62-year-old Alfreda Giedrojc, for the murder of five-month-old Vivian Summers. The killing took place on the ranch owned by the defendant and her husband.
The Poland native needed a translator in court, the Chicago Tribune described. She has been living in the United States for the past 30 years.
Assistant Cook County State Attorney, Michael Deno, detailed that Alfreda was babysitting when she slayed the child.
She used a sledgehammer which she had prepared in advance and took the baby's life while her husband and son in law were out of the house.
“The defendant took the victim off of the couch where she had been sleeping and placed the baby on the floor and retrieved a sledgehammer from her closet, which she had placed there the night before. The defendant then hit the victim repeatedly in the head and body with the sledgehammer,” Deno says.
As the victim did not die as the result of the hammer hits, Giedrojc launched herself on her with a carving knife.
“Since the victim was still crying and moving the defendant went into the kitchen and retrieved a large carving knife. The defendant then picked the victim up, held her, and then slit her throat with the knife,” Deno adds.
When Alfreda's husband, Bill, returned to the house, he saw the lifeless body of his granddaughter. He called police and they were dispatched to the house on Sunday morning, detaining the woman.
“Never in my life would I ever have believed this could happen. [...] You have to just pray for the whole family,” neighbor Carrie Lynn Hennessy expresses.