A Wisconsin grandfather allegedly beat his 12-year-old grandson to death by repeatedly hitting him with a hammer for 90 minutes after finding money missing from his wallet on Sunday.
Andrez Martina, 54, is accused of bludgeoning his 12-year-old grandson Andre Smith II to death at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Police say Martina admitted that he ‘lost control’ after he woke up around 3am on Sunday to find his wallet open and money missing.
The victim, who was sleeping over at Martina’s house along with an eight-year-old boy, denied taking the money and turned his pockets inside out to show they were empty, according to a criminal complaint.
Martina allegedly used a sledgehammer, mallet and coat rack to beat the child for up to 90 minutes and continued the attack even after the boy went into another bedroom to get the money.
At one point Smith managed to lock himself in the bathroom, but Martina was able to pick the lock and started beating him again, according to the complaint.
Martina reportedly told investigators that at one point he shoved the boy so hard into the wall, he left a hole behind.
Martina is a multiple time felon with previous convictions for drug dealing, according to Wisconsin Right Now.
Martina’s mother, who is disabled, was home during the attack and sitting on the couch, but could not do anything to save her great-grandson due to her disability, WISN said.
She told police that she watched Smith get beaten with a hammer for an hour and half.
According to the complaint, Martina does not recall using a hammer in the attack, but admitted he lost control.
The complaint said that after beating the boy, Martina took the child into the shower and attempted to rinse off his blood.
He admitted to authorities that he knew Smith was in need of emergency medical attention at this point, and attempted to clean the blood off the boy.
The boy’s grandmother Illysha McCroy was his legal guardian.
The victim was not taken to the hospital until about 9am when McCroy called her daughter and Smith’s aunt Nia Moore and her boyfriend.
Smith was already unconscious by the time Moore arrived at 9am and the police were notified at 9.35am.
Both boys who were in the home were admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee for injuries, where Smith was stabilized and then sent to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin due to the severity of his injuries.
Smith was officially pronounced dead at 10.15am at the hospital.
Medical staff made life-saving attempts, but were unable to save Smith due to his injuries.
Smith’s cause of death is listed as multiple blunt force injuries to the head.
The Medical Examiner for Milwaukee County found the boy had severe fractures to his skull and brain injuries, as well as hemorrhaging near the kidneys.
Martina is also accused of striking the 8-year-old brother, breaking his finger and bruising his body.
Martina allegedly asked the boys to say over so they could get school supplies in the day, according to the Sun.
Martina is charged in Milwaukee County with five counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, physical abuse of a child, neglecting a child, physical abuse of a child, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
McCroy has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Smith’s funeral costs.
However, his mother Nakeda Martina, who was trying to gain custody of the boys at the time of Smith’s death, claimed the page is fraud and that the funeral is already paid for.
She wrote in a Facebook post: ‘THEY KILLED MY BABY. HIS FUNERAL IS PAID FOR. DONT DONATE TO THAT GO FUND ME. ITS FRAUD.’
She later claimed she hoped her biological father will be killed in prison, writing: ‘I really hope they kill my dad in prison HE KILLED MY BABY.’
