'World Failed' Oak Forest Girl Killed In 2013: Prosecutors

OAK FOREST, IL — A Chicago man facing murder charges in the death of Oak Forest 3-year-old Gina Presley is also accused of abusing her. Jessie Rodriguez's trial began Wednesday, five years after the girl was killed.

According to prosecutors, Rodriguez, who had been dating Gina's great aunt and guardian, was babysitting the girl March 26 in Oak Forest when paramedics were called because 3-year-old was choking. Gina was pronounced dead early the next day at Palos Community Hospital, and an autopsy determined ruled her death a homicide caused blunt force trauma to the head.

“The weapon that killed Gina is sitting in this courtroom right here,” assistant state’s attorney Cheryl Galvin said of Rodriguez in her opening statements Wednesday, Aug. 15, according to the Daily Southtown.

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• Did DCFS Fail Slain Oak Forest Toddler?

Kimberly Debartolo — Gina's great aunt who met Rodriguez through an online dating site three months before the girl's death — backed up prosecutors' contentions in court Wednesday, the report stated. She had been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony, the report added.

"The whole world failed Gina Presley in her short three-year life," said Gavin, adding that Debartolo might have failed Gina the most by bringing Rodriguez into their lives.

A week before Gina's death, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services received a report of bruises on the girl's body, and her autopsy revealed old and new injuries. But defense attorney Patrick Campanelli said Wednesday that Gina's injuries could have received those injuries — including the head trauma that ultimately claimed her life — earlier, and he alleged that the girl could have been abused by family members, the Southtown reports.

In 2014, James Foutas, Gina's paternal grandfather, filed a wrongful death lawsuit and claims Oak Forest police and DCFS had been called numerous times before the 3-year-old's death to report abuse.

More via the Daily Southtown

Jessie Rodriguez, 48 (Photo via Oak Forest Police Department | Patch archive)