Maryland – In a disturbing incident in Maryland, a young boy’s life was tragically cut short due to severe physical abuse inflicted by his 34-year-old mother, identified as J. Offer, and her 34-year-old boyfriend, identified as B. Wheatley.
Late Wednesday night, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the police responded to a 911 call at the couple’s residence. They were alerted to a situation involving an unresponsive child. The young boy, identified as 6-year-old Brian, was quickly transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A medical examiner later confirmed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, marking a tragic end to Brian’s short life.
Offer and her boyfriend, Wheatley, were arrested following the incident. They face serious charges, including child abuse resulting in death and assault. The allegations against them paint a grim picture of the events leading up to Brian’s death. Details from the charging documents, reveal that the abuse began earlier in the week. It all started when Brian was caught taking money from his mother’s wallet. Offer’s response was severe; she allegedly smacked and punched Brian multiple times with a closed fist. Wheatley then continued to “discipline” the child after Offer.
Offer attempted to explain some of the boy’s injuries and marks on his body by suggesting they could have been from play fighting with his brother. Wheatley supported this claim, adding that Brian “b-uises easily” due to having light skin. The situation took a turn for the worse on the night of Brian’s death. According to Offer, Wheatley was giving Brian a bath when she noticed something was amiss. She claimed to find Wheatley slumped on the floor and Brian unresponsive in the tub filled with scalding water. Despite their efforts to revive him, including applying burn cream and performing CPR, Brian could not be saved.
Wheatley told the police he accidentally fell asleep due to a medical condition that causes him to nod off unexpectedly. He recalled Brian playing with the nozzles just before he lost consciousness. The water in the bathtub reportedly reached a temperature of 128 degrees. The medical examiner’s findings were disturbing: Brian suffered a lacerated liver, multiple fractured ribs, and extensive internal bleeding in the head and torso, leading to his death being ruled a homicide.
Further investigation revealed that Brian’s 8-year-old brother also showed signs of physical abuse, with visible injuries on his face and an inability to move his left arm. He was promptly taken into the care of Child Protective Services. Offer and Wheatley remain in jail without bond, awaiting their upcoming court hearing.
