Boy aged four told police that his stepdad hit his baby sister real hard

A FOUR-year-old boy told a police officer and his mum that his stepdad hit his baby sister ‘real hard’ — the 22-month-old died later in hospital.

Andrew Isaacs, 27, has been charged with child abuse and admitted in court in the city of Mesa in the US state of Arizona that he hit his stepdaughter Joylynne Giebel in the mouth twice and smacked her on the head twice, reported Arizona Republic.

“The 4-year-old made a spontaneous statement to his mother and a patrol officer that his ‘daddy had hit his sister in the face real hard,’” according to a court documen by a Mesa Police Department detective. Isaacs had claimed that the baby had fallen.

'Daddy hit sister in the face real hard' ... 22-month-old Joylynne Giebel died 24 hours after her stepfather called police. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

“Just a baby, so innocent, sweet loving, she’s our little angel,” Joylynne’a aunt Tiffani Giebel told Fox 10 Pheonix.

“She (Joylynne’s mother) loved that little girl, I can’t imagine what she is going through. Her mom (sic) loved her more than anything in the entire world; she was her little princess.”

Isaacs had called police around 1:30am on Friday and reported that the baby was not breathing.

Joylynne was pronounced dead in Banner Desert Medical Centre, Mesa, about 2am on Saturday.

Isaacs dismissed his behaviour as playing too rough and rough-housing with Joylynne and said he did not think she would get hurt, although he acknowledged that she was fragile. He also admitted to a prior incident in which he threw a football at her head and caused a bruise behind her ear.

Joylynne’s cause of death remains unknown and her body is being subjected to an autopsy by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Department of Child Safety is investigating why it failed to follow through on a December complaint involving Isaacs that came in via the state’s child-abuse hotline.

“The call involved serious allegations regarding Andrew Isaacs” and the child, DCS Director Greg McKay said.

A caseworker visited the home within 48 hours but no-one was home and she left a business card on the door. There was not a follow-up visit, McKay said

McKay, who listened to the telephone call, said the allegations involved potential injuries on the child, drug dealing and use of opiates to drug the child. There should have been an immediate follow-up, he said.

He also revealed that there had been at least a half-dozen reports involving Joylynne’s family to DCS over the past four years.

'A little princess' ... Joylynne Giebel would have been two in August. Picture: GoFundMe Source: Supplied

Joylynne’s family has started a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses.