Benjamin Brown / Photo courtesy Hamilton County Sheriff’s OfficeThe trial continued Thursday morning for a 30-year-old man charged with murder and aggravated child abuse in the 2018 death of a 2-year-old Hixson girl, with jurors hearing about alleged communications between the man and his girlfriend, who was supposed to be babysitting the child at the time of her injury.
Benjamin Brown stands accused of inflicting mortal injuries on the toddler on Aug. 9, 2018. The girl, Annie Burkett Shell, died 12 days later from the injuries she sustained.
On Wednesday, jurors were shown footage of Brandi Giannunzio picking Annie and her younger sister up at their grandparents’ home in Soddy-Daisy around 8:30 a.m. the morning of Aug. 9, 2018. The grandparents had expected Giannunzio to take the girls home with her to babysit for the day.
The trial continued Thursday morning with Lt. Jake Elrod presenting security footage of the Do or Dye hair salon in Soddy-Daisy, where Giannunzio is shown arriving shortly after 9 a.m. She does not have either of the girls with her.
She remains inside until around 11:30 a.m., when she comes out and sits in her vehicle for a few minutes before returning to the salon.