Baby who died after abuse in KC home ID’d by family, who allege harm in godmother’s care
Family members and the Kansas City Police Department have identified a Kansas City infant who died Thursday after suffering severe abuse as Giovanni Carr, 7 months.
Giovanni, known as Gio, was the only child of Armoni Carr, 20, according to family.
“This is so unfair to a 7 month old,” Carr’s aunt, Thea Harris, told The Star. “There’s no way he could have harmed anyone or anything. He really did not deserve this… this is something so unbearable.”
Kansas City Police discovered the 7-month-old baby unresponsive at a home in the 5300 block of Olive Street, near Blue Hills Park, around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15, according to KCPD spokesperson Officer Alayna Gonzalez.
Gio was recovered from the home with trauma to his brain and eyes, Harris shared on GoFundMe. He was also found with fractured ribs, an injured liver, a lacerated spleen and burns on his foot, she said in the post.
Police detectives were notified Thursday that the baby had died, Gonzalez said.
Harris told The Star that Gio’s godmother was watching the baby on June 15 before he was taken to the hospital. Carr and the godmother had known each other for upward of 10 years, Harris said.
“She asked for him, and she watched him, and he was abused somehow, some way, some form, some fashion,” Harris said. “He has injuries that I’ve never seen, never even heard of.”
Gio’s godmother picked him up at about 4:30 p.m. on June 15, Harris told the Star. The infant was in her care for seven hours, until an ambulance arrived.
Carr texted her child’s godmother around 9 p.m. to check on Gio, Harris said. The woman responded at 11:15 p.m., saying Gio was fine, then followed up at 11:33 p.m. saying Gio was sick and “breathing funny.”
Harris said the godmother called an ambulance at 11:38 p.m. , and Carr met her son at the hospital around 4 a.m. Sunday.
Carr needed child care during her first day of work at Amazon, and the child’s godmother had volunteered to watch Gio, Harris said. The woman had been trusted to babysit the infant for short periods of time before, but never alone, Harris said.
“She’s always been around him and watched him, but I don’t believe in my soul that she was able to just watch him by herself,” Harris said.
The Star is not naming the godmother, because she has not been charged.
Harris described Gio as a contented baby with a sunny disposition.
“He was always smiling, always happy,” Harris said.
Carr and her family have begun planning funeral services for Gio. A fundraiser supporting burial expenses has raised just over $1,300 as of Thursday evening.
The baby’s death is being investigated by homicide detectives, according to Gonzalez.
This story was originally published June 20, 2024 at 6:27 PM.
