Charging documents paint sad painful picture of young Brian Graham's last minutes

Publication Date: 2024-08-23

Article Image

The tragic ending to a 6-year-old Baltimore boy's life. Charging documents paint a painful picture of young Brian Graham's last minutes. His body burned and bruised, lying motionless in a bathtub full of hot water, which testing found reached temperatures of 128 degrees Fahrenheit. Jalesia Offer is Brian's mother and Brandon Wheatley is her fiance. Both face several charges including first degree child abuse resulting in death. On August 21 Wheatley took Brian to the bathroom for a shower. Soon after Offer claims to have found Brian unresponsive in the bathtub with Wheatley slumped over on the bathroom floor. After waking Wheatley up, Offer said they pulled Brian from the tub and called 911. Brian died later that night at the hospital. His death was ruled homicide. The Medical Examiner's Office determined Brian suffered from a lacerated liver, multiple fractured ribs, and internal bleeding to the head and torso. When asked what happened, Wheatley recalled briefly leaving the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. Upon returning he saw Brian playing with the water nozzles and soaking in the tub. Last thing Wheatley remembered was being awoken by Offer to help with Brian. Wheatley explained having a medical condition that causes him to suddenly fall asleep while sitting down. When questioned about the marks on Brian's body, Wheatley said he play fights with him, while suggesting Brian's 'light skin' made him bruise easily. When Offer was questioned about Brian's bruises, she admitted to smacking and punching her son several times two days earlier as a form of discipline for allegedly taking money from her purse. Offer said Wheatley also 'physically disciplined' Brian after she'd already done so. Despite her admission, Offer blamed Brian's bruising on play fighting with his 8-year-old brother. With that information, detectives interviewed Brian's brother who was bruised as well and could not even move his left arm. The brother told police he was injured from boxing with Wheatley. Child Protective Services ended up taking custody of the brother.

Baltimore News

BALTIMORE WEATHER

If you're specifically interested in employment opportunities in Tucson and surrounding cities, our sister site can help. Visit TucsonHire.com for localized job listings.

© 2024 OttoNews.com. All rights reserved.