Note: This story was updated on Feb. 3 to correct the status of the accessory charges.
The Soddy-Daisy babysitter facing criminal charges in connection with the 2018 death of a Hixson toddler will face a false report charge on Feb. 20.
Giannunzio, 30, who is out on bond, will on Feb. 20 face the charge of making a false report to law enforcement, according to attorney Andrew Coyle, who is prosecuting the case. The felony charge carries a sentence of two to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines, should she be found guilty, according to Tennesse law.
Coyle prosecuted the case against Giannunzio's fiancé, Benjamin Brown. He left the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office in May of last year and was appointed special prosecutor in the case against Giannunzio shortly after, due to his familiarity with the case.
Coyle said the prosecution of the false report count will move forward on Feb. 20.
Giannunzio was also facing two counts of accessory after the fact -- a felony that carries a sentence of one to six years in prison and up to $3,000 in fines, according to Tennessee law. Those charges are not moving forward.
Giannunzio has hired Daniel J. Turklay, who will represent her at trial Feb. 20. Turklay is the third attorney to take on Ginnunzio's case in less than a year.
Giannunzio was the babysitter for 2-year-old Annie Shell-Burkett, who died Aug. 9, 2018, after Giannunzio left the toddler with her fiancé while she went to the Do or Dye Hair Salon in Soddy-Daisy for a few hours, according to authorities.
Giannunzio told Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services and Soddy-Daisy investigators she was at the house when Annie hit her head in the bathroom, but surveillance footage showed she was at the hair salon at the time Annie sustained the fatal injuries, according to authorities.
Brown was arrested and charged with murder in the child's death. In February 2022, after a six-day trial, a jury in February 2022 found Brown guilty of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in Annie's death. He was ordered to serve two years in prison followed by 11 months and 29 days in a workhouse.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.