Details emerge in 2-year-old’s death

A man accused of killing his girlfriend's baby son last week asked officers to shoot him and pleaded for the death penalty in an interview with detectives.

Cory Simmons, 35, told Las Vegas police he pressed down on the throat of the 2-year-old for several minutes until the boy vomited and began convulsing, according to his arrest report. Simmons said he then panicked and called 911.

The boy, Orlando Morris, later died at University Medical Center.

In another disturbing moment detailed in the report released Tuesday, emergency room doctors said the baby had been bleeding from his rectum, which "did not look right," the report said.

Officers found a sex toy in the boy's crib, which was in the master bedroom of Simmons' house at 6349 Rose Tree Lane in northeast Las Vegas.

Simmons, a registered sex offender, also was the caregiver of his girlfriend's two underage daughters. Both girls were at home during the incident. Simmons told police he didn't touch any of the children.

Simmons was forced to register after being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor four years ago in Illinois. He had also been arrested on a murder charge in Illinois in 2003, but that charge was dismissed, the report said.

Orlando’s mother, Denisha Jackson, told police she met Simmons through an online dating website late last year. Simmons first stayed with the family for three weeks in November and permanently moved into the home in January.

Jackson told police she worked at night and typically left her three children with Simmons. She was at work at 10:20 p.m. Thursday when Simmons called paramedics.

Simmons told police he took Orlando from the girls' room about 10 p.m. after the boy started crying, the report said.

He said he gave Orlando some chocolate milk to calm him and then took the boy to his bedroom. Orlando then began to choke on the milk.

Doctors told police the boy's injuries were not consistent with Simmons' story.

As Simmons told the story, he was shaking uncontrollably and wouldn't look detectives in the eye, the report said. Later Simmons told detectives he wanted an attorney and stopped speaking. Still later he called detectives back , waived his right to an attorney and admitted that he had pushed on the boy's neck.

Simmons "was unable" to explain to police why he took the boy from the girls' bedroom into his own room, the report said. Several times he asked Detective Dean Raetz to shoot him and said he wanted the death penalty if he was arrested, the report said.

Simmons was booked at the county jail on a charge of murder by child abuse, and he has a court appearance today.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.