Neighbors wanted to adopt infant

LYNN – Neighbors of a man charged with beating a 3-month-old child to death said Wednesday they had offered to adopt the child or its twin brother because they feared for the children’s safety.”That’s why we wanted the kids,” Roberto Pabon said Wednesday afternoon at the apartment building where the family had lived. “Because we knew (the parents) had problems.”Meanwhile, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) issued a statement saying they have “launched a thorough review” of an open case involving the victim’s and defendant’s family. They also immediately took custody of the victim’s twin brother.Anthony C. Gideika, 32, of 526 Western Ave. #1, pleaded not guilty to assault and battery on a child with substantial injury; in Lynn District Court Wednesday.The charges stem from the death of 3-month-old Chase Gideika, who doctors said suffered extensive bruising and massive internal and brain injuries consistent with being violently shaken and slammed.Chase Gideika was hospitalized Monday morning, was declared brain dead the following night and was pronounced dead Wednesday morning, a prosecutor told the court at Anthony Gideika’s arraignment.Pabon, whose girlfriend, Elsie Torres, lives next door to the defendant and his family, recalled awakening early Monday morning to hear his car alarm going off.Pabon said he looked outside and saw approximately 20 police officers on the street and immediately knew something was wrong. Pabon said he went into the common hallway and heard Anthony Gideika say the child was not breathing. Pabon said Anthony Gideika was also questioning why police were asking him questions about what had occurred.Pabon said the child’s mother, Jennifer Nelson, was crying. He said she was still crying when he saw her later that day.Pabon independently and without provocation said many of the same things that officials said or at least implied at Anthony Gideika’s arraignment in court.He said Anthony Gideika had recently learned he was not the twin’s father, news which devastated him.”He loved that girl,” Pabon said. He and Torres described Nelson as quiet and nice. They said the couple kept mostly to themselves; only going outside to smoke cigarettes on the apartment stoop. He and Torres said they never heard screaming or fights from their neighbors’ adjoining apartment.But Pabon said that Anthony Gideika also had “mental problems,” and Pabon and his girlfriend suspected Anthony Gideika and possibly Nelson had a drug problem. Pabon and Torres also said they had concerns about how Anthony Gideika treated the children.They noted one time they saw Anthony Gideika take one of the twins and “throw it in the car like it was a shopping bag,” Pabon said.Pabon and Torres said they also offered to adopt one of the children and Anthony Gideika said they had to pay $2,500 to do so.Pabon said the twins’ biological father also wanted to take care of the kids. Pabon said he had translated for the twins’ biological father when that man, who does not speak English, met with Anthony Gideika about the children. Pabon said Anthony Gideika had set up the meeting but the biological father was not allowed to take custody of the children.The Department of Children and Families (DCF) also expressed concern about the children’s safety.DCF Director of Public Affairs Cayenne Isaksen said in a statement that the department first became involved with the family in June 2012 after receiving a report of neglect on behalf of Nelson’s 3-year-old son. That child was placed in foster care.”Since DCF became involved with the family last year, both Ms. Nelson and Mr. Gideika have been engaged in treatment programs, while also receiving supportive parenting services from community providers to address their individual needs and issues,” the statement read. “The family was also receiving support from extended family members to assist them in caring for their twin boys. A DCF social worker last visited the home for a regularly scheduled monthly vi