Grandmother 'Insane' When She Killed Infant Granddaughter: Judge

OAK LAWN, IL -- An Oak Lawn grandmother accused of bludgeoning her baby granddaughter with a sledge hammer and then slashing the infant’s throat with kitchen carving knife in October 2013, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland said in her ruling Wednesday that 66-year-old Alfreda Giedrojc was suffering from a major depressive disorder and psychosis, and could not appreciate the criminality of her acts. Giedrojc had no visible reaction when the judge rendered her verdict. Her son, Lester, and the baby’s father, Joel Summers, were both present in court.

Hyland said there was no question that the defendant killed 6-month-old Vivian Summers, when the infant was left briefly in her grandmother’s care on Oct. 6, 2013. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said the baby died of blunt force trauma and an incision wound.

“Vivian suffered a brutal and horrific death,” Hyland said.

Two experts testified for the defense that it was their opinion that Giedrojc suffered from a major depression disorder and was delusional at the time of the murder. The doctors said it was their belief that Giedrojc and did not know that what she was doing was wrong when she allegedly killed her granddaughter. Giedrojc has been held without bail since her arrest on the day of the baby’s death. Dr. Mathew Markos, director of clinical forensic services for Cook County Circuit Court, at one point determined that Giedrojc was unfit to stand trial and participate in her defense during her almost five-year incarceration.

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Markos and Dr. Christofer Cooper, chief of psychology for Cook County Clinical Services, detailed Giedrojc’s descent into madness in their testimony. Giedrojc’s family began said she began showing signs of depression in 2011. She was hospitalized twice in 2012 for psychiatric treatment, after she tried to commit suicide by drinking an entire bottle of Polish moonshine and was found on unconscious on the floor with a .346 blood-alcohol-content.

“Both doctors went through available information and detailed the defendant’s extensive medical history,” Hyland said. “In each hospital she was seen by different doctors who diagnosed her as suffering from major depression with psychosis.”

As Giedrojc’s depression escalated in 2013, the Oak Lawn grandmother continued to express paranoid beliefs of being deported from the country and her mother’s unpaid medical bills. Giedrojc stopped taking antidepressants and other psychiatric medications because she thought the doctors treating her would lose their medical licenses if she continued.

“Another doctor prescribed an antidepressant and sleep aid. Dr. Markos testified that he felt the medications were inadequate and had to be changed or added,” the judge said. “I looked at additional information from the family, who described her multiple indications of depression and withdrawal from daily activities. They described her as quiet at a family dinner the night before Vivian’s death when the only words she said were, ‘the world is bad.’”

Hyland also went through the testimony of an Oak Lawn police officer who was first to arrive on the scene at Boleslaw and Alfreda Giedrojc's home on Oct. 6, 2013. The officer said Giedrojc was emotionless, matter of fact and unaffected when he arrived on the scene.

“The defendant could not provide a rational reason for the sledgehammer, indicative of an aggressive disorder,” Hyland said. “There was no indication of planning to hurt the child or knowledge that she’d be alone with the child, or any problem with other family members. On cross-examination both doctors said there no evidence that she was malingering.”

“Considering the evidence and experts' testimony, I do find that the defense met the burden of proof and is not guilty by reason of insanity,” the judge stated.

Giedrojc will be remanded to the Illinois Department of Human Services, where she will be evaluated over the next 30 days at a state-run hospital.

“They will determine an appropriate placement for the defendant pursuant to the mental health and disability code,” Hyland said.

After the hearing, assistant public defender David Dunne said Giedrojc will be released into custodial care in a secure state hospital. He said it would be up doctors to determine if she would ever be released back into society. He described Giedrojc as a shell of her former self, with little or no change over the past five years.

“Given the nature of the crime, she may not be eligible,” Dunne said. “This has been horrible for her family. They lost the baby and their wife and mother. The judge made a good call but it doesn’t bring the baby back.”

The judge is set to review Giedrojc's evaluation by the Department of Human Services on June 26 in Bridgeview.