In 2010, a shocking and heartbreaking case emerged from a small Kansas community:a young boy with Down syndrome had been found in the attic of his own home, starving, neglected, and abandoned by the very person who was supposed to care for him.
Giovanni “Govi” Eastwood was only six years old at the time, yet his body was frail and underdeveloped, weighing no more than a three-year-old child.
His condition was so severe that medical experts later confirmed that he would not have survived much longer if he had not been rescued that night.
Govi’s mother, Rachel Perez, had been taken into custody due to outstanding warrants. Authorities quickly located and removed Govi’s two older siblings, ensuring their safety, but Govi himself was left behind.
Initially, Perez provided false information about his whereabouts, misleading the officers. Sergeant John Klingele, who was part of the team investigating the home, later recalled, “She concocted some story about where Govi was.So they all ended up leaving, and Govi was still there.” The officers had a suspicion that the boy was still inside the house, so they returned to the property to investigate further.
After calling out and carefully checking, they discovered him hidden away in the attic, alone and in terrible condition.
The sight of Govi shocked everyone. “He looked like a kid out of a concentration camp, skin and bones,” Sergeant Klingele remembered. “We were told he was going to be seven, but size-wise he looked maybe three.”At just 17 pounds, he could not walk and barely spoke. His body was covered in filth, malnourishment had caused hair loss, and his bones were brittle and bowed due to rickets.
The fatty tissue that should have cushioned and protected him had completely wasted away. There were no blankets, no toys, and no sign that anyone had attended to his basic needs.
Authorities later concluded that his mother had intentionally hidden him in the attic, leaving him neglected and forgotten for extended periods of time.
