An 18-year-old Texas boy with autism is facing permanent blindness after a so-called friend allegedly threw powdered drain cleaner in his eyes.
Branden Jolly, 17, had his first date with a judge on Friday, where he had bail set at $300,000.
Brody Morgan, who has autism, was walking through his Friendswood neighborhood when Jolly threw what turned out to be a drain unblocker.
Morgan’s mother Amy said her son returned to their home screaming, initially believing it was just salt in the boy’s eyes.
However, when she tried to wash his eyes with water, things only got worse, with Amy Morgan claiming it looked like her son had two black eyes.
Brody Morgan (pictured), who has autism, was walking through his Friendswood neighborhood when Branden Jolly threw what turned out to be a drain unblocker
“They looked like they were bruised, black,” she said ABC-13.
Brody Morgan claims one of the teens stole a package from the house down the street.
Jolly chose to open the stolen box, which contained a tube of a powder the boys did not 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 led to Jolly throwing the powder back in his face, according to police.
Doctors were eventually able to determine that Jolly had thrown powdered drain cleaner at Morgan.
“We went to the emergency room and they immediately realized it wasn’t salt, and they kept trying to hear from me what it was, but I had no idea,” Amy Morgan said.
Jolly has been charged with causing injury to a disabled person due to 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 has claimed this is all an accident and that all the boys involved played a role.
Jolly’s mother claims Brody Morgan “attacked” her son and the substance then fell from Jolly’s hand and landed on Morgan.
The family also released a statement sympathizing with Morgan but maintaining Branden’s innocence.
“Our family is very distraught over the details of this case, for both of our families. “I am deeply saddened by the entire event, and my heart goes out to Brody and his family,” his mother wrote.
“I believe this incident was NOT a malicious act by my son to harm his friend, but an accident resulting from the choices made by all parties involved.”
However, the third teenager involved in the incident – who has not yet been identified – told police that Jolly had deliberately thrown the substance.
Amy Morgan told it I LOVE that the other two boys knew her son had autism and should have known better, even dragging them into the house to spray him with the chemicals.
‘He said, ‘You shouldn’t do that. That is bad.’ Something along those lines… and I think that kind of irritated them. These guys 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 he has been taken to a burn unit and could lose his vision permanently
However, she added that she doesn’t want Jolly’s life to be completely ruined by this.
‘I think he should be punished. I don’t know what that looks like because I don’t want him to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Morgan said.
Court documents also say the package was clearly labeled to show it was drain cleaner.
Brody Morgan’s parents say he has been taken to a burn unit and could lose his vision permanently.