BALTIMORE — 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, age 34, 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 by blunt force trauma. The Medical Examiner's Office determined Brian suffered a lacerated liver, multiple fractured ribs, and internal bleeding to the head and torso.
"This is just an extremely tragic and sad story," said Baltimore Police detective Nikki Fennoy.
That's similar to how one neighbor reacted when he heard what happened.
"It's awful. It's a crazy world we live in. But when you hear stuff like that, especially in your own backyard, it's kinda trippy," said Hasan Edmondson. "People are sick, and people need help."
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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.
Online court records show Wheatley has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2008, including multiple drug convictions.
Police say it's difficult to know when abuse goes on inside the home, unless suspicious behavior or injuries are reported by others.
"If you see a little child that has bruising, and you may not want to confront the adult, it's ok to dial 911 and just have an officer come out and investigate," said Fennoy.
