Mom’s New Convicted Murderer and PCP Fiend BF Boils Little Boy Alive

Jaelon Quintes Baes was born on July 3rd, 2009, to parents Byron Baes and Jasmine Thompson in Dallas, Texas. Jasmine was originally from Arkansas and was about nineteen when Jaelon was born, while Byron was approximately thirty-seven. Jaelon already had an older brother who was about a year and a half older than him, along with many extended family members. Everyone called Jaelon “Bam-Bam” or “Bamster,” and he was known for being bright, talkative, and possessing a big smile.

Unfortunately, little Jaelon was born into a complicated family life marked by instability. His father, Byron, went to prison for felony forgery shortly after Jaelon was born, leaving Jasmine to navigate single motherhood temporarily. While Byron was behind bars, Jasmine quickly moved on and started dating a new man named Carelis Delaney Simmons. Carelis was thirty-seven years old and carried a deeply violent past, having already been convicted of homicide in 1994.

During the 1994 incident, Carelis had killed another man during a fight outside of a South Dallas bar. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for the homicide alongside related drug charges, ultimately serving time until his release in late 2007. It did not take long for him to return to criminal behavior, however, as he was arrested just two years later by the Dallas police on additional drug charges after admitting he sold PCP vials.

Byron was eventually released from prison on parole in September of 2010 and spent as much time as possible with his one-year-old son. Despite this, Jaelon and his older brother primarily lived with Jasmine and her new boyfriend, Carelis. Carelis lived in an apartment that was widely known as a local drug house, yet this red flag did not deter Jasmine from bringing her two young children into that dangerous environment.

By November of 2010, Jasmine and her sons were living with Carelis in a new apartment located within the same complex at 8100 Skillman Street in Dallas. Jasmine was fully aware that Carelis was a convicted murderer, but she actively brushed off the danger. She never pressed him for details about his homicide conviction, rationalizing that his violent past happened long before she ever knew him.

Jasmine also knew that Carelis was an active drug dealer, yet she completely failed to recognize the inherent threat he posed to her two small boys. She frequently left the children in Carelis’s care while she went off to work, believing he treated the boys as if they were his own. Furthermore, she claimed she simply lacked the financial resources to hire professional childcare providers, forcing her to rely on an extremely hazardous individual.

On November 4th, 2010, when Jaelon was sixteen months old and his brother was nearly three, their mother fell ill with a urinary tract infection and needed to visit a hospital. She left Carelis in charge of babysitting the two young boys while she sought medical treatment. Later that evening, at 11:49 p.m., Carelis made a frantic 911 call claiming that Jaelon had suffered accidental burns while cooking in the kitchen.

During the emergency call, Carelis stated that he was heating up water on the stove and failed to realize his baby son was standing directly behind him. He claimed that when he suddenly turned around, all of the boiling water spilled directly onto the child. He panicked, telling the dispatcher that the water was so hot that the toddler’s skin was actively peeling off his body.

Sometime during the unfolding emergency, Jasmine returned home with the help of friends and attempted to administer first aid. She followed instructions relayed by the 911 operator while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. Paramedics with Dallas Fire Rescue soon arrived at the scene and rushed little Jaelon to Parkland Memorial Hospital for urgent medical evaluation and intervention.

Medical staff at the hospital quickly discovered that Jaelon had sustained severe third-degree burns across approximately thirty percent of his body. The horrifying injuries covered both of his legs, his buttocks, and his right hand and wrist, alongside noticeable bruises on the left side of his face. Dallas police officers were immediately dispatched to the hospital to investigate the suspicious nature of the injuries.

Officers Alyssa Wattis, Ronald Carroll, and Rink arrived at the emergency room at 12:10 a.m. and spoke with Jasmine. While medical staff worked frantically, Carelis told responding officers that he had been holding a pot of boiling water when Jaelon approached him unexpectedly. He repeated his story about dropping the water, hearing the boy scream, and placing him on a bed once he noticed the skin falling off.

Jasmine told the officers that she was not home when the incident occurred but received a phone call from Carelis informing her of the accident. She insisted that Jaelon was completely uninjured when she left the apartment earlier that evening. Carelis confirmed that the only other person present inside the residence during the incident was Jaelon’s older brother.

Doctors within the hospital’s specialized Burn Unit thoroughly explained the extent of Jaelon’s injuries to the investigating officers. They noted that the wounds consisted of at least second-degree partial thickness burns on his legs and full second-degree burns on his hand. Both the medical professionals and police officers immediately agreed that the physical trauma did not match Carelis’s claim of an accidental splash.

Jasmine and Carelis both signed consent forms allowing police officers to conduct a thorough search of their apartment. Following this, Carelis was transported to Dallas Police Headquarters to be interviewed extensively by detectives regarding the timeline and mechanics of the incident. Jasmine mentioned that Carelis frequently cooked meals for the family, and upon returning home, she noticed items arranged as if cooking was underway.

Police photographed the apartment the following morning, revealing a box of Hamburger Helper on the counter and a package of pork chops resting atop the refrigerator. Additional photographs captured a towel lying on the floor near the stove and a large pot containing a small amount of water. Beyond the meal preparation items, officers uncovered a staggering amount of illicit contraband hidden throughout the residence.

Inside a cabinet directly above the stove, officers discovered eight plastic baggies containing cocaine stored inside a clear plastic bowl. Inside the refrigerator, they found ninety-five brown vials filled with liquid PCP ready for distribution. Alongside the illegal narcotics, authorities seized twenty-seven bottles of assorted flavored vodkas, sixteen additional vodka bottles, seventeen lighters, three condoms, and various smoking paraphernalia.

Investigators also collected a small amount of loose cash from the kitchen cabinets, while Carelis himself possessed over one thousand dollars in cash inside his pants pocket. Police placed all of the seized contraband into secure property storage along with the other items recovered from the apartment. Following his detailed interview, the Dallas Police child abuse unit officially arrested Carelis on the morning of November 5th.

Carelis was booked into the Dallas County Jail on a first-degree felony charge of injury to a child, with bail set pending further legal proceedings. Jaelon’s older brother remained completely uninjured during the ordeal and was eventually placed into the safe care of his maternal grandmother. Meanwhile, little Jaelon remained isolated within the Parkland Hospital Burn Unit fighting for his young life against catastrophic trauma.

While initial updates on Jaelon’s medical condition were not immediately released to the public, the severe nature of his burns indicated he was in critical condition. Jasmine was cleared as a suspect because she was not present at the time, yet she continued repeating Carelis’s implausible narrative. She later stated that police and doctors both told her it looked like the boy was dipped in water, yet she struggled to accept reality.

Why Jasmine chose to give the benefit of the doubt to a convicted murderer and drug dealer over expert pediatric doctors remains a tragic mystery. Little Jaelon endured five agonizing weeks inside the hospital hooked up to an array of breathing tubes, intravenous lines, and complex monitors. Photographs from this period showed his tiny frame nearly consumed by the medical equipment desperately fighting to keep him alive.

Doctors exhausted every possible medical intervention to prevent the toddler from succumbing to his horrific injuries and cascading systemic failures. During one complex surgery, medical teams were forced to remove roughly sixty percent of his intestines because the thermal damage was entirely irreversible. They removed an even larger portion during a subsequent second surgery as his condition continued to deteriorate.

Jaelon’s fragile body was relentlessly wracked by severe infections throughout his harrowing and painful hospital stay. He ultimately suffered total kidney failure, causing his body to swell up so severely that he became completely unrecognizable as the happy child he once was. Tragically, despite the tireless efforts of the medical staff, Jaelon passed away at 8:53 p.m. on Saturday, December 11th, at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

The cumulative injuries and overwhelming infections proved far too severe for his infant body to overcome after thirty-six days of fighting. Some forms of physical trauma simply exceed the biological limits of the human body, particularly when inflicted upon a defenseless toddler. News outlets soon picked up the heartbreaking story, broadcasting the tragic reality of a one-year-old boy losing his life to extreme violence.

Reporters interviewed Jasmine outside the hospital, where she expressed profound grief and disbelief over the loss of her youngest son. She reiterated that Carelis had called her claiming an accidental spill involving a pot of boiling water had caused the devastation. However, law enforcement officials firmly maintained that the burn patterns were completely inconsistent with a simple household accident.

Police and medical examiners confirmed that the physical evidence strongly suggested the toddler was intentionally dipped and held directly inside boiling water. Carelis possessed a long history of violent crime, having served prison time for taking another man’s life during a brutal bar fight. Jasmine admitted during interviews that leaving Jaelon in the custody of such a man was a decision she would forever regret.

Jaelon’s biological father, Byron, also spoke to reporters, expressing deep anguish over how anyone could inflict such cruelty upon an innocent baby. He described his son as a beautiful angel who brought immense joy and happiness to everyone around him. Dallas police formally advanced their case, ensuring that Carelis would face severe criminal charges for the homicide of the innocent child.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner officially ruled Jaelon’s manner of death as a homicide following a comprehensive forensic review. Investigators emphasized that the burns localized to his feet, legs, buttocks, and hands completely invalidated the accidental splashing defense. Sergeant Brenda Nichols of the Dallas Police child abuse unit described the situation as a uniquely heartbreaking case for all involved personnel.

While awaiting trial, Carelis remained locked inside the county jail facing the initial injury charge alongside two felony drug distribution charges. Jasmine gave a follow-up interview from a local funeral home while arranging final services for her son, still displaying misplaced loyalty. She stated that learning of intentional harm would break her heart because she had chosen to place absolute trust in her partner.

Other family members displayed a much clearer and more realistic assessment of the horrific event from the very beginning. Jaelon’s aunt Veronica publicly stated that the severity of the burns clearly pointed toward intentional torture rather than an accident. Byron echoed these sentiments, stating his primary focus was laying his son to rest while demanding full accountability through the judicial system.

During the subsequent criminal trial, Carelis entered a guilty plea regarding the drug offenses but maintained his innocence on the child injury charge. On May 4th, 2012, a Dallas jury rejected his defense and found him guilty of first-degree felony injury to a child. The judge handed down the maximum possible sentence of ninety-nine years in prison, adding five consecutive years for each drug charge.

Questions remained regarding why prosecutors chose not to upgrade the charges to formal homicide, which the medical examiner had officially certified. Legal analysts suggested the state likely prioritized the child injury charge as a more straightforward and airtight path toward securing a maximum sentence. In June of 2013, Carelis filed a formal legal appeal contesting his conviction and lengthy prison sentence through the appellate courts.

Appellate opinion documents finally revealed precise, clinical details regarding the exact distribution of Jaelon’s horrific injuries upon hospital admission. Medical records confirmed that burns extended up his legs to his waist, with deepest tissue destruction concentrated below the knees. Additional burns covered both thighs, the groin area, the right buttock, the soles of both feet, and his right hand.

Doctors noted small, distinct burn radiuses around his waist while observing complete absence of thermal trauma on his head, face, or shoulders. However, they documented concerning bruises along his left cheek and surrounding his left ear, indicating prior physical abuse. Most damningly, forensic experts established that the burn injuries were already several hours old when Jaelon finally reached the emergency room.

This crucial timeline completely dismantled Carelis’s claim that he dialed 911 at 11:49 p.m. while actively preparing a late-night meal. Three separate physicians who treated Jaelon, including two board-certified pediatric specialists, provided compelling expert testimony during the trial. They universally testified that the immersion nature of the wounds ruled out any possibility of accidental splashing or spilling.

The medical experts explained that the burn patterns indicated Jaelon had been submerged in hot liquid while wearing a diaper. Liquid leakage inside the diaper explained localized burns on his right buttock, while thermal creases showed defensive posture responses. Specifically, the doctors noted that the child had instinctively folded himself into a tight fetal position to shield vital areas.

The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy fully corroborated the specialized pediatric assessments regarding the mechanics of the toddler’s injuries. Although the defense presented a rebuttal pediatrician who claimed the wounds resulted from accidental splashes, the jury found the state’s experts convincing. Carelis’s appellate attorneys argued that his actions constituted a startled reflex while cooking, but the appellate court found no merit in the claim.

The appellate court highlighted that Carelis never explained how the water contacted the child during his initial emergency call. Finding his narrative entirely lacking in credibility, the appellate court officially affirmed the trial court’s verdict and denied the appeal. Carelis was subsequently transferred to the Jim Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve his lengthy sentence.

Prison records indicate that Carelis will not become eligible for parole consideration until the year 2040. A public wake and funeral service for Jaelon were held in mid-December 2010 at the Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas. Family members laid the little boy to rest beneath a simple granite headstone bearing his full name and dates of life.

The headstone features a touching inscription reading “There are no tears in heaven” alongside an etching of a train and teddy bear. Years later, surviving family members continue visiting his gravesite to decorate it with balloons and flowers in his honor. They ensure that the memory of their beloved Bam-Bam remains vibrant despite the tragedy that cut his life short.

Jaelon’s brief existence was stolen away before he could experience the simple joys of growing up, attending school, or celebrating milestones. By sharing his tragic story, his family hopes to keep his memory alive while raising awareness against child abuse. The devastating loss serves as a permanent reminder of the critical importance of protecting vulnerable children from dangerous environments.