Arrest report reveals details of toddler’s death

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 | 4:49 p.m.

The man accused of killing his girlfriend’s toddler Thursday told detectives he applied pressure to the crying boy’s throat for “two to three minutes” to quiet him, according to an arrest report released Tuesday.

Cory Simmons, 35, was arrested and charged with one count of murder by child abuse, police said. The boy, 2-year-old Orlando Morris, died Thursday night at University Medical Center.

Metro Police said officers responded at 10:21 p.m. Thursday to the 6300 block of Rose Tree Lane in northeast Las Vegas to investigate reports of a toddler in medical distress.

Simmons, the sole caregiver at the time, initially told detectives Orlando started choking while drinking milk, but doctors said that version of events wasn’t consistent with their medical assessment, according to the arrest report.

Doctors found blood on the boy and concluded his anal area “did not look right,” police noted in the report. Meanwhile, police said officers went back to the residence and found a sex toy in the crib.

During an interview with homicide detectives, Simmons said he met his girlfriend, Denisha Jackson, online and came to visit her in November. In January, he moved in with Jackson and her three children, according to the report.

Simmons immediately began watching the children while she worked a third shift, a situation he acknowledged had been a point of contention in their relationship, police noted in the report.

Simmons again told detectives Orlando choked on milk that he had given him to stop crying, but he later requested an attorney, according to the arrest report.

A short time later, Simmons called detectives into the room and requested the death penalty if arrested, then proceeded to say he wanted to speak without an attorney present, according to the arrest report.

That’s when Simmons allegedly admitted to putting his right hand on Orlando’s throat and pressing down for “two to three minutes,” police said in the report.

When Simmons released Orlando, the boy allegedly threw up while his arms jerked by his sides, according to the arrest report.

Simmons did not say why he took Orlando from his bedroom or why the boy started crying initially, but he denied ever touching the children in a sexual manner, according to the arrest report.

Police said Simmons’ criminal history includes an arrest for murder in 2003 in Illinois, but those charges were dismissed. He also had been convicted of attempted criminal sex abuse with a victim younger than 17 in 2008 in Illinois, police said.

Simmons was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, where he is being held without bail, according to jail records.