MILWAUKEE — The man accused of beating his 12-year-old grandson, Andre Smith Jr, to deathmade his first court appearance Thursday morning.
Andrez Martina is facing five charges and if convicted, would face two life sentences plus 35 years.
He's being held on $750,000 cash bail, GPS monitoring and a 24-hour curfew with no exception.
The victim's mother, Nakeda Martina, joined the virtual court appearance and lashed out at the suspect, her father.
"I hate you," Martina said, holding back tears. "I warned you, I begged you to stay away from my kids."
Police say 12-year-old Andre Smith Jr. was killed over the weekend at the hands of his grandfather, Andrez Martina.
According to a criminal complaint, Andre Smith Jr. died at Children's Hospital due to severe blunt force traumatic injuries to the head.
"Andre didn't deserve what you did to him, and Aston didn't either," Nakeda said. "I hope you and your momma suffer and I hope wherever you go, they deal to you what you did to my baby."
She continued to say she he would never forgive Andrez or Illysha (grandmother and guardian of Andre) for what they put her son through.
During the virtual court appearance, the Assistant District Attorney called this case the worst she's ever seen.
According to court records, the victim and his brother were at a sleepover at their grandfather's house when the grandfather accused Andre of stealing money. Police say he then beat the boys for hours, killing Andre.
TMJ4 News spoke with Nakeda, Andre's mother, on the phone after the court appearance. She told us it's been a difficult day and the worst days of her life. However she said she could not speak with us further until speaking with her lawyer.
Martina's next court appearance is Sept. 13.
