Crime & Safety

Grandma Killed Baby With Sledgehammer and Knife, Prosecutor Says

Judge orders grandmother charged in murder of 6-month-old granddaughter held without bail.

updated 4:30 p.m.

By LORRAINE SWANSON
The grandmother accused of bludgeoning and slitting the throat of her 6-month-old granddaughter was denied bail during a court hearing in Bridgeview on Monday afternoon.

Alfreda Giedrojc, who turns 62 on Wednesday, shuffled into the courtroom wearing a blue jumpsuit and pink bedroom slippers.

The Oak Lawn grandmother has been charged with first degree murder of her infant granddaughter, Vivian Summers.

A Polish interpreter explained the proceedings to her as Cook County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Deno read the horrific details of Giedrojc's alleged acts, when Oak Lawn police discovered the gravely injured infant in Giedrojc's Oak Lawn home.

Deno said that Giedrojc's son-in-law came from Bolingbrook, left his 6-month-old daughter, Vivian, in his parents-in-law's home in the 6600 block of West 91st Street Sunday morning.

The baby's father left the house with Giedrojc's adult son to go work on a rehab project across the street, the prosecutor said.

A short time later, Giedrojc's father left the home to see what the other men were doing, leaving Vivian alone with her grandmother.

"After the defendant's husband left, the defendant took the victim off the couch where she had been sleeping and put her on the floor," the prosecutor alleged. "She picked up a sledge hammer that she had placed in her closet the night before and hit the victim repeatedly in the head and body with the hammer."

When the baby would not stop moving and crying, Giedrojc went to the kitchen and retrieved a carving knife. The grandmother picked the baby up, held her, and slit her throat, the prosecutor said.

Deno said in court that Giedrojc admitted in a video statement to beating the baby with a sledge hammer and slitting her throat.

The Cook County Medical Examiner gave the cause of Vivian's death as blunt trauma to the head and an inch-sized wound to the neck.

Judge Kerry M. Kennedy ordered the Oak Lawn grandmother to be held without bail.

After the hearing, in a press conference in front of the courthouse, Deno said he would have no further comment on Giedrojc's possible motive or if she had been evaluated for mental illness.

Oak Lawn Police Chief Michael Murray said his officers received a call at 10:46 a.m. Sunday of an armed subject at the home. His officers received further information while en route that a small child had suffered a significant injury.

Murray said information about who placed the 911 call on Sunday morning is part of Oak Lawn Police's investigation reports and would come out during trial.

Giedrojc is due back in court on Oct. 28.


Original story, 12:51 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7 --
Authorities have charged a 61-year-old Oak Lawn woman with murder in the death of her 6-month-old granddaughter.

Alfreda Giedrojc, 61, of the 6600 block of West 91st Street, is charged with one count of first degree murder, Oak Lawn police said Monday afternoon.

Oak Lawn police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force conducted an investigation into the death of a baby girl, named Vivian, on Sunday.

The baby lived with her parents in Bolingbrook, police said. Her father and grandfather had stepped out of the grandparents' Oak Lawn house for a short while, during which time the baby died. Her grandmother does not have any prior criminal convictions, according to authorities.

Giedrojc is due in court in Bridgeview at 1 p.m. today.

Patch will continue to update this story. Follow Oak Lawn Patch on Facebook for continued breaking news. 

Patch editor Nick Swedberg contributed to this report.








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