An Arkansas family are searching for answers after a family member was burned across his body at the home of a white family who didn’t bother calling them or 911 after the incident occurred. 8-year-old Jayceon Charles was over a friends home according to Local 12.
The plans were for him to sleep over at their home so that he would go to an amusement park the next day.
They were roasting hot dogs when the accident took place. Jayceon’s parents, Lakiesha Belin and Justin Charles said that their son called them and hung up and when Justin called him back, he heard Jayceon screaming in the background.
The parents rushed over to the home and discovered him covered in Vaseline and plastic wrap. The boy was severely burned and the parents had to drive him to the hospital as the family didn’t call 911. The family now wonders why no one was called.
This incident took place on August 9 and Jayceon is still hospitalized and he suffered severe burns across 80% of his body. Jayceon has suffered from kidney failure, sepsis, and brain damage and had to be placed on a ventilator and resuscitated twice. Over the course of his hospital stay, he’s had multiple surgeries; doctors have removed five inches of his small intestine.
Jayceon’s grandmother called the police, and the family says that there has been a lack of investigation. Two months later, the family says that investigators rarely contacted them for witness interviews or medical reports.
Justin says he believes the incident was no accident and due to Jayceon being Black and the family’s house he was staying at is white, investigators aren’t given the case priority.
“The stories that’s been told never sat right with me from the beginning,” Earl Charles, Jayceon’s grandfather said. “I never understood why so many people dropped the ball and just didn’t show any concern.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser has since been created for Charles:
“Jayceon was badly burned on August 9th, 2022 in Warren, Arkansas while visiting a friend’s house. He has been in ICU at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital since the incident. Jayceon has suffered burns over 80% of his body, not to mention that he’s coded twice and had to have a trachea placed in his neck. Doctors have had to remove 5 inches of his small intestine and he’s had sepsis. Our prayer is that Jayceon is able to fully recover and come back bigger and better than before. I ask that you please have and show compassion to this baby. Any and all donations will truly be appreciated.”
Breonna Taylor warrant details deepen mistrust in police
Washington, D.C Elementary School Apologizes After Black 5th Graders Were Asked To Portray Slaves
Link to original The Black Detour