Left: Brandon Wheatley. Right: Jalesia Offer (Baltimore Police Department).
A mother and her boyfriend in Maryland are behind bars after allegedly beating her six-year-old son to death because he took money from her wallet.
Baltimore Police officers responded to a home at 6300 Greenspring Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of an unresponsive child, later identified as Brian Graham. Paramedics took him to the hospital, where he later died. A medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.
Police arrested Brandon's mother, Jalesia Offer, and her boyfriend, Brandon Wheatley, both 34, on charges of child abuse resulting in death and assault. Local NBC affiliate WBAL and ABC affiliate WMAR obtained charging documents detailing the brutal manner of young Brian's death. The alleged beating reportedly began earlier in the week when Brian took money from her wallet.
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“She slapped Brian and punched him several times. And Mr. Wheatley continued the physical punishment toward her,” the documents state.
Offer allegedly told police she believed some of his bruises might have been from playful fighting with his brother. Wheatley said he “playfully fights” with Brandon and bruises easily because he has light skin, the affidavit said.
The night of Brandon's death, Wheatley went to bathe the boy. A short time later, Offer said, she passed by the bathroom and saw her boyfriend slumped on the floor and Brandon unconscious in the tub of scalding water. She woke Wheatley and they got the boy out of the tub. They applied burn cream to him and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, she said.
Wheatley later told police that the last thing he remembered was Brandon playing with the jets before falling asleep, authorities said. He claimed he suffered from a medical condition that caused him to fall asleep while sitting up, the affidavit said. The water temperature was said to have reached 58 degrees.
A medical examiner ruled the boy's death a homicide. He reportedly suffered a lacerated liver, several broken ribs and internal bleeding to his head and torso.
“This is just an extremely tragic and sad story,” Baltimore Police Detective Nikki Fennoy told reporters.
Police also reportedly discovered that Brandon's 8-year-old brother had injuries to his face and was unable to move his left arm. The boy was taken into custody by Child Protective Services.
Offer and Wheatley are being held in jail without bail. A court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
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