Felon granddad Andrez Martina 'beat grandson, 12, to death with a HAMMER after accusing boy of stealing cash from him'

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy in Milwaukee is dead after his felon grandfather allegedly beat him to death with a hammer over missing money.

Police say 53-year-old Andrez Martina admitted to "losing control" on Sunday and beating his grandchild, Andre Smith Jr., to death in Wisconsin.

Andre and his 8-year-old brother were staying at Martina's house when Martina allegedly asked to have the boys sleep over to get school supplies the next day, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CBS58.

Wisconsin Right Now reported that Martina is a “multiple time felon (at least four times over) convicted of drug dealing and was arrested years ago for homicide,” but CBS58 reported his grandmother, Illysha McCroy, had custody of him and was giving the boys’ grandfather “the chance to get to know his grandkids” after not previously being in their lives.

Martina told police he woke up at about 3am to use the bathroom and noticed money was missing from his wallet. He claimed he went to the living room and accused Andre of taking it.

Although the young boy allegedly turned his pockets inside out to show his grandfather he hadn’t stolen the money, Martina told officials he then hit Andre repeatedly, continuing to do so even after Andre went to a cousin's bedroom to get the cash.

The complaint noted that Martina recalled, "I'm not killing him, I'm just bopping his [expletive],” according to CBS58.

Investigators said that in the course of the attack, Martina attempted to use belts and even beat the boy with Martina's mother's wooden cane.

At one point, the complaint noted, Andre was able to run to the bathroom to lock himself inside, but Martina told investigators he picked the lock open and "lost it" on the boy. 

He said he shoved Andre at one point and his head left a hole in the wall.

Martina's mother, who lived in the same residence but is disabled, told investigators she saw Martina hitting Andre with a hammer and that the attack lasted an hour to an hour-and-a-half.

The boy’s aunt, Nia Moore, received a call for help Sunday morning, only to find the boy unconscious when she arrived. 

"We was trying to save him. We couldn't save him," Moore told WISN 12 Milwaukee.

Moore and her boyfriend brought Andre to the hospital, but sadly, Moore said, "He died on me when I was in the car. And then he died again at Children's Hospital.”

According to the criminal complaint, Martina did not remember using a hammer to hit Andre but did admit he lost control in the attack that killed the pre-teen. 

Andre's 8-year-old brother also suffered a broken finger, bruising to his body, and a laceration to the top of his head in the attack, CBS58 reported.

The boy's mother, Nakeda Martina, told CBS58 she had been fighting to get custody of Andre when he died and is now trying to get her other children back.

Martina has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide; physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death; neglecting a child, consequence is death; physical abuse of a child, repeated acts with high probability of great bodily harm; and finally possession of a firearm by a felon

Andre's older stepbrother, Khekima Martina, told WISN he saw his little brother “unresponsive” in the home.

“He was 12 years old,” he told the outlet.

“He didn't deserve that.”

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.

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