A Texas 18-year-old with autism faces permanent blindness after a supposed friend allegedly threw powdered drain cleaner into his eyes.
Branden Jolly, 17, had his first court date with a judge on Friday, where he had bond set at $300,000.
Brody Morgan, who has autism, was walking through his neighborhood in Friendswood when Jolly threw what turned out to be a drain de-clogger.
Morgan’s mother Amy said her son returned to their home screaming, initially believing it to just be salt in the boy’s eyes.
However, as she tried to wash his eyes with water, it only got worse, with Amy Morgan claiming it looked as if her son had two black eyes.
Brody Morgan (pictured), who has autism, was walking through his neighborhood in Friendswood when Branden Jolly threw what turned out to be a drain de-clogger
‘It looked like they were bruised, black,’ she told ABC 13.
Brody Morgan alleges that one of the teenagers had stolen a package from the house down the street.
Jolly chose to open the stolen box, which contained a tube with a powder the boys didn’t recognize.
According to court documents, Jolly initially spilled the chemicals on Brody Morgan’s shirt.
Brody then tried to push Jolly away from him, which police claim led to Jolly throwing the powder back in his face.
Doctors were eventually able to determine that Jolly had thrown powdered drain cleaner at Morgan.
‘We went into the emergency room, and they immediately realized that it was not salt, and they kept trying to get from me what it was, and I had no idea,’ Amy Morgan said.
Jolly has been charged with causing injury to a disabled person on account of Morgan’s autism. However, he escaped house arrest after prosecutors demanded it be added to his bond.
Branden Jolly, 17, had his first date with a judge on Friday, where he had bond set at $300,000
Doctors were eventually able to determine that Jolly had thrown powdered drain cleaner at Morgan
The alleged attacker’s family have claimed that this is all an accident and that all the boys involved played a role.
Jolly’s mother claims that Brody Morgan ‘attacked’ her son and then the substance fell out of Jolly’s hand an on to Morgan.
The family also released a statement where they sympathized with Morgan but maintained Branden’s innocence.
‘Our family is very distraught over the details of this case, for both of our families. I’m very saddened by the entire event, and my heart goes out to Brody and his family,’ his mother wrote.
‘I believe this incident was NOT an act of malicious intent by my son to harm his friend but an accident resulting from the choices made by all parties involved.’
However, the third teen involved in the incident – who has not been identified – told police that Jolly threw the substance intentionally.
Amy Morgan told KHOU that the other two boys knew her son had autism and should’ve known better, even dragging them into the house to spray him with the chemicals.
‘He was saying, ‘You shouldn’t do that. That’s bad.’ Something along those lines … and I think that sort of irritated them. These boys knew Brody had autism,’ Morgan said.
Jolly has been charged with causing injury to a disabled person. However, he escaped house arrest after prosecutors demanded it be added to his bond
Brody Morgan’s parents say that he’s been transferred to a burn unit and could lose his vision permanently
However, she has added that she does not want to see Jolly’s life completely ruined for this.
‘I do feel like he should have some punishment. I don’t know what that looks like because I don’t want him to go to jail for the rest of his life,’ Morgan said.
Court documents also say that the packaging had been clearly labeled to show that it was drain cleaner.
Brody Morgan’s parents say that he’s been transferred to a burn unit and could lose his vision permanently.
