A two-year-old child who was being watched by his mother’s friend who was intoxicated beat him severely, and the child is currently battling for his life in the hospital.
Over the past few months, Giovanni Reichert has had various surgeries after his mother asked her friend McKinley Sloan Hernandez, 25, to take care of him.
‘I received a text message from the suspect saying I needed to rush to St Anthony’s Hospital because my son had gone lifeless after a bath, Stefanie Reichert told KDVR.
‘Once I saw him and all the 50 doctors standing around him, I had to leave the room because it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.’
According to a GoFundMe website created for him, Giovanni was taken to a children’s hospital after “being harmed by the hands of a trusted carer.”
Reichert claimed that Hernandez frequently kept an unauthorised creche at her Lakewood, Colorado, home to watch her son and other children. On September 1, Hernandez promised to look after Giovanni overnight, but it ended up being a crime scene.
Giovanni’s head and torso had sustained blunt force trauma when his mother discovered him.
Reichert said that Hernandez ‘won’t admit to anything’.
All she’s said is she was drinking, and he got hurt in her care,’ she said.
The toddler had an emergency surgery to suppress brain bleed and part of his skull was removed to reduce pressure. He is intubated and seated and doctors are not sure how his recovery will shape up.
‘Prior to this, (Giovanni) was a happy, healthy, energetic two year old,’ states the GoFundMe page. ‘As you can imagine, his parents Anthony and Stefanie are completely distraught.’
An arrest warrant was issued for Hernandez on Wednesday and she was arrested Friday night and faces felony child abuse charges.
‘I make up scenarios in my head all the time for the injuries he sustained, Reichert said, ‘So I wish I knew.’