The charges are connected to the Aug. 23, 2020, death of Averi Grabans at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger said she died of blunt force trauma to the head, and that she suffered a skull fracture, hemorrhages and contusions on her head.
Pulley was babysitting Aug. 19 while Averi’s mother was at work. When she picked up her daughter, she noticed bruising on the baby’s head, which Pulley said was caused by the car seat. 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 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 filed in Miamisburg Municipal Court.
The child’s mother left work and they took Averi to Dayton Children’s, where she died of her injuries three days later.
Pulley remains held on a $250,000 bond in the Montgomery County Jail, where he has been since his Jan. 28 arrest at his West Carrollton home by West Carrollton police and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pulley’s father, Charles Pulley Jr., said last week that his son would never intentionally hurt the baby, He called his son “a good kid” who in 2020 graduated from high school, had a job and his own car.
“This is a tragic accident,” he said. “There’s no way. He’s not capable. It’s just tragic.”
A GoFundMe page set up in Averi’s name to help cover funeral costs said the family donated the baby’s organs.
“Baby Averi’s little heart was donated to another baby that needed a heart this afternoon. God bless this child that has Averi’s heart. May the lord wrap his arms around the family that received her heart so their baby can live a full life,” the post read.
Staff Writer Parker Perry contributed to this report.
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