VIVIAN SUMMERS - 5 months (10/13) - / Charged: Grandmother, Alfreda Giedrojc - Oak Lawn, IL

Grandmother used sledgehammer, knife to kill baby, prosecutors allege

By Karan Olson and Matt Smith, CNN
updated 8:40 PM EDT, Mon October 7, 2013


Alfreda Giedrojc has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 6-month-old granddaughter.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Prosecutors say grandmother killed infant with sledgehammer, knife
  
• Alfreda Giedrojc has been charged with first-degree murder and is held without bail
  
• Investigators say she expressed remorse for the child's death
  

(CNN) -- Left to babysit her 6-month-old granddaughter, a suburban Chicago woman instead turned on the infant, bludgeoning her and cutting her throat, prosecutors said Monday.

Alfreda Giedrojc is being held without bail after a court appearance Monday afternoon, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office. She was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her granddaughter, Simonton said.

The girl's father brought her to Giedrojc's home in the southwestern suburb of Oak Lawn on Sunday while he helped with repairs on a nearby home, Simonton told CNN.

"Her father and grandfather had stepped out of the grandparents' house for a short time when this horrific event took place," Oak Lawn police said in a written statement on the death.

While her husband was away, Giedrojc laid the child on the floor, pulled a sledgehammer from a nearby closet and swung it down on her head and body several times. She then picked the baby up and used a carving knife to slit her throat when she was still alive, Simonton said.

Oak Lawn Det. Mike Kaufmann said the 61-year-old Giedrojc expressed remorse for the child's death when questioned, and investigators have found no record of previous arrests or mental illness.

Attempts to reach the public defender assigned to represent Giedrojc were unsuccessful Monday evening.


www.cnn.com/2013/10/07/us/illinois-child-killing/index.html

Prosecutors: Grandmother used sledgehammer, knife to kill infant

By Andy Grimm Tribune reporter

8:34 p.m. CDT, October 7, 2013


Grandmother Alfreda Giedrocz stood impassively in a courtroom Monday, glancing from her Polish translator to the judge as prosecutors described how they believe the 61-year-old brutally murdered her infant grandchild with a sledgehammer and a carving knife.

Five-month-old Vivian Summers lay on the couch in the living room of her grandparents' tidy ranch house in southwest suburban Oak Lawn on Sunday morning.

The infant had been dropped off by her father, Giedrocz's son-in-law, who was helping Giedrocz's son work on his house across the street. Giedrocz's husband, Bill, went over to check on their progress, leaving Giedrocz alone with the child, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Deno said.

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• Video: Infant death ruled a homicide
  
• Maps
  
• 6600 91st Street, Oak Lawn, IL 60453, USA 
  
  

Then, Deno said, Giedrocz went to a closet and pulled out a sledgehammer she had placed there the night before.

"The defendant then hit the victim repeatedly in the head and body with the sledgehammer," Deno said. "Since the victim was still crying and moving, the defendant then went to 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."

Oak Lawn police were called shortly before 11 a.m. with a report of an "armed subject" inside the house. The child was pronounced dead shortly before 2 p.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center. Giedrocz was ordered held without bond Monday on a charge of first-degree murder.

Deno and Oak Lawn police Chief Mike Murray declined to answer questions about whether Giedrocz had a history of mental illness or a motive.

"I have never seen anything like it," Murray said after the hearing in Bridgeview. Murray said officers who responded to the call have been offered counseling.

Neighbors said Vivian's parents, who live in Bolingbrook, had been thrilled at the birth of their daughter.

Giedrocz's attorney said she has lived in the U.S. since 1983 and is a naturalized citizen.

"Never in my life would I ever have believed this could happen," said Carrie Lynn Hennessy, who has lived next door to the Giedrocz family in Oak Lawn for 12 years.

"You have to just pray for the whole family."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-grandmother-charged-in-oak-lawn-infants-slaying-20131007,0,3385305.story

Just read about this.  Broke my heart.  I've been trying to get the death penalty back in Illinois but the lib's just won't have it.  They seemed to think people like this deserve to live.  I DON'T.  Poor little angel.  I'd love to have a little grand daughter, even a step would still be loved with all my heart and soul.  William

Grandmother Accused of Killing Baby Indicted in Court
Oak Lawn grandmother accused of killing infant granddaughter indicted in court on Monday morning. Public defender says, "We got a lot of work to do."

Posted by Lorraine Swanson (Editor)  
October 28, 2013 at 11:34 PM

The Oak Lawn grandmother accused of murdering her 6-month-old granddaughter made a brief appearance in court on Monday morning

Alfreda Giedrojc, 62, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder with intent to kill or injure, in a Bridgeview courtroom.

Wearing a blue jail uniform, Giedrojc’s head barely reached the podium as a Polish interpreter explained the morning’s proceedings.

Appearing at Giedrojc’s side was her attorney, public defender Michael Wilson. It did not appear that any family members were present.

Read more: http://oaklawn.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/grandmother-accused-of-killing-baby-indicted-in-court

Oak Lawn grandmother accused of killing granddaughter still waiting evaluation

BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com
January 29, 2014 4:52PM
Updated: January 30, 2014 2:13AM


Alfreda Giedrojc | Oak Lawn Police photo

Chalk it up to Cook County bureaucracy or someone simply not paying attention.

Whatever the reason, the court-ordered psychiatric evaluation for an Oak Lawn grandmother accused of murdering her infant granddaughter was not done, attorneys for the prosecution and defense told Judge Colleen Hyland on Wednesday at the Bridgeview courthouse. As a result, it’s not yet been determined if Alfreda Giedrojc, 62, is fit to stand trial on the charge of first-degree murder for the Oct. 6 slaying of Vivian Summers.

Giedrojc is charged with using a sledgehammer and then a carving knife to kill the 6-month-old baby on a Sunday morning in her home in the 6600 block of 91st Street while her husband and the baby’s father were across the street working on a home repair job at her adult son’s house.

Hyland scheduled an update for March 6, at which time it’s hoped that the psychiatric evaluation will have been completed.

Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Deeno told Hyland that the order was issued for the evaluation shortly after the last hearing in the case on Dec. 17. But Forensic Clinical Services, at the Cook County Jail at 26th Street and California Avenue in Chicago, said it never got the order, Deeno said in court.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Wilson took the setback in stride.

“It happens. It’s bureaucracy. I’m going to fax them another order, and then I’m going to take a copy to them personally. Sometimes, I’ve brought things myself and they didn’t get them,” Wilson said. “It happens.”

Deeno handed Wilson a plastic bag that contained two pairs of eyeglasses for Giedrojc, given to Deeno by her family members, Wilson said. Giedrojc has been in the jail since her arrest.

“She is doing OK. When you do your time, you’ve got to go day by day,” he said.

Giedrojc wore jail-issued blue coveralls and blue sneakers topped with a dark blue jacket with “DOC,” short for Department of Corrections, in large white block letters on the back. A Polish interpreter explained to her what the judge and attorneys said.

“All murders are difficult to deal with because somebody lost their life. And they’re family,” Wilson said. “You just don’t tread on the fact that victims have feelings.”

No family members attended Wednesday’s status hearing.

Wilson is in the process of discovery, meaning he is reviewing evidence he’s received from the state’s attorney and from the Oak Lawn police.

“A lot of times you get different things,” he said, adding that items from the police are not always what he gets from the state’s attorney’s office.

Deeno was not available for comment after Wednesday’s hearing.

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/25257963-522/oak-lawn-grandmother-accused-of-killing-granddaughter-still-waiting-evaluation.html

Misplaced Court Order Holds Up Grandma’s Psych Evaluation, Attorney Says
Attorney for grandma accused of killing infant granddaughter says losing stuff in the Cook County court system "happens."


January 29, 2014 at 10:48 PM



Alfreda Giedrojc, 61, of Oak Lawn, has been charged with murdering her baby granddaughter.
Photo Credit: Cook County Sheriff

Alfreda Giedrojc, the Oak Lawn woman accused of murdering her infant granddaughter, was back in a Bridgeview courtroom on Wednesday morning.

The 62-year-old grandmother’s attorney told the judge a psychiatric evaluation did not take place as requested because Cook County Jail officials said they never received the court order.

Giedrojc was charged with first-degree murder after her 6-month-old granddaughter was found bludgeoned with a sledgehammer and her throat slit in Giedrojc’s home last October, prosecutors allege.

Police said Giedrojc admitted to the crime in a videotaped statement at the Oak Lawn police station the afternoon of Oct. 6, 2013.
The grandmother, who does not speak English and requires the services of a Polish interpreter during court appearances, allegedly told police she had hidden a hammer in a closet the night before the baby was killed.

Her attorney, assistant public defender Michael Wilson, has since expressed a “bonafide doubt” about the grandmother’s competency to stand trial when he requested the psychiatric evaluation last month.

Cook County prosecutor Michael Deeno verified that a court order had been placed.

“I called clinical services but they never received it,” Deeno said.

Judge Colleen Hyland told both attorneys that she expected the psychiatric evaluation to be completed by Giedrojc’s next court hearing on March 6.

The forensic clinical evaluation will take place on the 10th floor of the Leighton Criminal Courts Building at 26th and California.
Carrying two pairs of the grandmother’s prescription glasses in a sealed plastic bag out of the courtroom, Wilson blamed the snafu on bureaucracy.

“They didn’t get it. It happens,” Wilson said. “Sometimes you send stuff and you don’t have it. It’s a bureaucracy.”

Asked if Giedrojc had been without her prescription eyewear all this time in jail, Wilson said family members had given the two pairs to the prosecutor.

“[The jail] takes care of that,” he said.

Police reports and morgue photos have been exchanged, Wilson confirmed. He has also filed court orders for Giedrojc’s medical and hospitalization records as she awaits trial in the women’s dorm at Cook County Jail.

Similar requests have gone out for interviews with the Oak Lawn woman’s immediate family and a court-appointed Polish interpreter.

“We defend people’s rights, not their lifestyles, ” Wilson said. “All murders are different. Nobody wins in a murder trial, especially when it involves family. Our purpose is to see that she gets a fair trial.”


http://burrridge.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/misplaced-court-order-holds-up-grandmas-psyche-evaluation

Judge: More Time Needed For Accused Killer’s Psych Exam


March 7, 2014 6:44 AM



Alfreda Giedrojc (Credit: Oak Lawn Police)


BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (STMW) – Five months to the day after she allegedly brutally killed her 6-month-old granddaughter, Alfreda Giedrojc found herself back in court Thursday.

The Oak Lawn woman, 62, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 6 slaying of her daughter’s baby, Vivian Summers.

Police said Giedrojc was in her home in the 6600 block of 91st Street watching Vivian while her husband and the baby’s father were across the street helping Giedrojc’s son with a home improvement project. After the men left, Giedrojc first hit the baby with a sledgehammer she had placed in a closet the night before and then stabbed the infant with a carving knife, according to police.

On Thursday, the court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Giedrojc was due, but Cook County Forensic Clinical Services needs more time to complete the testing, Circuit Court Judge Colleen Hyland said. The test results are due at Giedrojc’s next court date on April 22.

Giedrojc’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Michael Wilson, told Hyland that Forensic Clinical Services wants to talk with members of Giedrojc’s family members to learn more about her background.

Giedrojc, a native of Poland, needed a Polish interpreter to translate the remarks of the Wilson and the judge during the brief hearing. No family members attended.

Afterward, Wilson and Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Deeno agreed with the need to be thorough with Giedrojc’s psych exam.

“It’s a very complicated case. We have a dead child. You don’t rush through these things,” Wilson said. “You see the state isn’t rushing us. … We’re not going to set any speed records in this case.”

He said he’s given Forensic Clinical Services a list of people to talk with.

“We have to give them (all our evidence), and they have to talk to everybody they feel is necessary,” Wilson said.

Deeno said the request for more time to test Giedrojc is “not unusual. That’s to be expected. Obviously, they want to do a proper and thorough job.”

Hyland on Dec. 17 ordered the psychiatric evaluation of Giedrojc, but Forensics Clinical Services said it never got the order. So, the judge ordered it again on Jan. 29.


http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/07/judge-more-time-needed-for-accused-killers-psych-exam/

Oak Lawn woman’s competency hearing delayed

By Steve Metsch, smetsch@southtownstar.com
June 30, 2014 6:20PM

A hearing on the mental fitness of an Oak Lawn woman, accused of killing her infant granddaughter, was continued Monday when her public defender failed to show up.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Clayton Crane continued the hearing for Alfreda Giedrojc to July 7 after Assistant Public Defender Michael Wilson did not appear in court and could not be located.

Shortly before noon, Giedrojc was brought into the courtroom, and the judge informed her through an interpreter why the hearing would be delayed. Crane said Wilson had been in the Criminal Courts Building in Chicago earlier that morning but had left and could not be contacted.

The fitness hearing was to determine whether Giedrojc, accused of killing the 5-month-old baby with a sledgehammer and knife, is mentally competent to stand trial. The hearing was originally set for June 4 but had been continued until Monday.

Circuit Court Judge Colleen Hyland said on May 28 that Dr. Matthew Marcos, of Cook County Forensic Clinical Services, had determined that Giedrojc was not mentally able to be tried, but a hearing must still be held on the issue. The June 4 hearing was rescheduled by mutual agreement of prosecutors and the defense.

Giedrojc, 62, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 6 death of Vivian Summers in Giedrojc’s house in the 6600 block of 91st Street. Authorities say Giedrojc killed her granddaughter, whom she was watching while the baby’s father and Giedrojc’s husband were across the street helping Giedrojc’s son with a home improvement project.

Giedrojc has been held at Cook County Jail since the killing.

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/28403818-418/oak-lawn-womans-competency-hearing-delayed.html#.U7v7__ldUnd