He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court today for a scheduling conference.
Pulley is accused of killing Averi Grabans in August. Prosecutors said that Pulley was responsible for the baby when her mother was at work. Court documents say when she picked up her daughter, she noticed bruising on the baby’s head, which Pulley said was caused by the car seat.
The documents say the next day while Pulley again was babysitting, he called his girlfriend to report that Averi “was not acting right.” A picture he sent to the mother’s cellphone showed the baby’s arms were out to her side and her eyes were “fixed to one side,” a West Carrollton police detective wrote in an affidavit.
Averi was taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she died.
The bond against Pulley was originally set at $250,000 in Miamisburg Municipal Court. Montgomery County Assistant Prosecutor John Amos wrote in a bond review memorandum that the bond should be higher in the common pleas case.
“The coroner has ruled her cause and manner of death as a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head,” he said. “The baby had numerous contusions all around her head. She suffered from a V-line skull fracture as well. The defendant attempted to explain these new injures from his either dropping his cell phone on her face or swinging her around and hitting her head against the wall. The coroner has watched the defendant’s videos of his demonstrations and does not believe these are plausible explanations based on the totality of the injuries around her head.”
The assistant prosecutor said that the $250,000 bond was inconsistent with historical bonds in murder cases and “that there was nothing unusual about the case that would merit a reduction to a quarter of what is standard in this county.”
Meanwhile, Pulley’s father, Charles Pulley Jr., previously told media that the child’s death was a “tragic accident” and he believes the murder and felonious assault charges are “too much.”
“The perception of what it is, there are other cases that fall into this, but with this kid, it’s just not. He’s just a good kid. No ill intentions, no malice,” he said.
A message to Pulley’s defense attorney, Anthony VanNoy, wasn’t responded to Tuesday.
Charles Pulley isn’t the only local man recently accused of killing a baby. William Clouse, 39, was charged last week in the death of his 2-month-old son Gabriel Clouse. William Clouse was arrested Friday and remains in the Montgomery County Jail, according to jail records. The records say he is due in court for an arraignment hearing Thursday.
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