Baltimore Police have arrested the mother of a 6-year-old boy whose death a day ago was ruled a homicide, as well as the woman’s fiance.
Police responded Wednesday evening to a home in the 6300 block of Greenspring Avenue for a report of an unresponsive child. The child, 6-year-old Brian Graham, was taken to an area hospital where he later died, according to police.
The following day, investigators arrested the boy’s mother, 34-year-old Jalesia Offer, and her partner, 34-year-old Brandon Wheatley. Offer and Wheatley were taken to the Central Booking & Intake Center, where they were both charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in death and other assault charges.
Offer and Wheatley’s cases had not yet appeared in online court records as of Friday afternoon; it was not immediately clear if either had retained counsel.
Charging documents for Wheatley state the boy’s body had lots of bruising and severe burn marks. Offer told officers that her fiance had taken the boy into the bathroom to shower, according to charging documents. When she walked past the bathroom, she noticed Wheatley slumped over and the boy unresponsive in the tub.
Wheatley suffers from a condition that causes him to fall asleep while sitting down, police said he told them. He said Brian had been playing with the water nozzles before he fell asleep.
A medical examiner on Thursday ruled the boy’s death a homicide and said the cause was blunt force trauma. The statement of charges for Wheatley state Brian had multiple fractured ribs, a lacerated liver and internal bleeding in his head and torso.
Authorities carried out a search warrant on the family home Thursday and found a large amount of over-the-counter first aid supplies. A test of the bathroom’s hot water during a three-minute period reached 128 degrees. Investigators also said an 8-year-old boy in the home had bruising on his face and was unable to move his left arm.
According to police, Offer told investigators she had physically disciplined Brian on Monday for taking money out of her purse. She smacked and punched the boy multiple times, and told officers that Wheatley had continued to discipline Brian after her, according to police. She believed the bruises were caused by play fighting with the 8-year-old. Wheatley said he play fought with the kids but said Brian bruised easily because of his light skin tone, according to police.
Authorities have opened a separate investigation into the 8-year-old’s injuries.
This is a developing story.
