MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A 4-year-old boy died Wednesday, days after he was burned while under the care of his mother's boyfriend, Miami Gardens police said.
According to a police report, Khalil Jabali, 23, was watching his girlfriend's three children Sunday while she was at work when the woman's son was burned by hot water that had been boiled in the microwave.
Police said Jabali called his girlfriend to tell her that the boy had wet his bed and was burned by hot water he had left in the bathroom when her younger child started crying.
Explaining that he had boiled water in the microwave so he could wash the boy's wet clothes, Jabali told police he left a bowl of hot water on the bathroom sink while he was in another room checking on the other child. When he returned to the bathroom, Jabali said he found the boy on the floor moaning and his skin peeling off.
The boy's mother left work and, along with Jabali, took her son to Jackson North Medical Center. He was then transferred to the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.
Police said the boy had burns to 15 percent of his body.
The boy also had other injuries, including bleeding around the brain and the chest cavity and broken ribs, authorities said.
The boy's body was taken to the Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s office, where an official cause of death will be determined.
Jabali was initially arrested on an aggravated child abuse charge. It's unclear whether that charge will be upgraded.
Jabali also faces a molestation charge involving a 6-year-old girl.
"The pain suffered by these children, allegedly at the hands of their mother's boyfriend, is sickening," DCF Press Secretary DaMonica Smith said in a statement. "DCF has opened a child death investigation and a child protective investigation. The department is actively supporting law enforcement to ensure that anyone responsible for harming these children is brought to justice."
Jabali remains in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond.
DCF officials said the department has had no prior interaction with the family. The deceased child's siblings are now in protective care.