Marietta parents charged with child abuse after 5-year-old pronounced dead, investigation underway
On Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, Cobb County 911 received an emergency call from 462 Ramona Street just after 6:00 PM. Both parents were on the line, reporting that their five-year-old son was not breathing and that they had been performing CPR for several minutes.
Police, Fire, and Metro Ambulance units were immediately dispatched. Marietta Police and Fire arrived together to find the family inside the home, with the unresponsive child lying on the floor. Marietta firefighters quickly took over CPR from the boy's father and began providing emergency medical care.
Metro Ambulance transported the child to Kennestone Hospital, after which he was airlifted to Arthur M. Blank Hospital in Atlanta. Despite extensive efforts by first responders and medical teams, the five-year-old remained unresponsive and on life support until he was pronounced deceased just before 11:00 AM the following morning.
Due to the circumstances and initial evidence, Marietta Police Department detectives were brought in to conduct a criminal investigation. On Monday morning, warrants were obtained charging both parents with a combined total of 12 felonies. They were arrested and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is also involved in the case and has taken custody of the family's four other children.
The investigation is ongoing, and further charges may be forthcoming based on additional evidence.
Current charges are as follows:
- Alexiss Eitrem, 31, of Marietta: Five counts of Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree (Felony) (Warrant 26-W-858)
- Michael Horn, 31, of Marietta: Aggravated Battery (Felony), Aggravated Assault (Felony), Cruelty to Children in the First Degree (Felony), and four counts of Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree (Felony) (Warrant 26-W-857)