The following appeared in my dear friend Dee Parsons’ blog, The Wartburg Watch.
The following post is a bit outside of my wheelhouse. This is a situation that has been debated about on the wider internet. Eric Bonetti at Anglican Watch has been following the situation closely and has been in touch with the family and other involved individuals. Eric has been following these stories for quite a while. Eric wrote the post based on his involvement with the situation. Please be aware that these are all allegations. At the end of the post are two YouTube videos, the one of Gracie that is heartwrenching.
Please help this family find justice by contacting the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies. The story I’m about to share with you involves allegations of ongoing sexual abuse of a minor—and the death of her older brother, who tried to protect her under suspicious circumstances. As always, these are allegations, and all persons are innocent until found guilty in a court of law. But I find the allegations credible.
–Eric Bonetti (Website: Anglican Watch)
At the heart of abuse is exploiting real or perceived power imbalances to obtain an advantage over another person. And if you want to see a horrific example, look at the case of Grant, Gracie, and Angie Solomon.
Angie Solomon was married to a well–known figure in the Nashville area, former WSMV anchor Aaron Solomon. They have two children — the late Grant Solomon, a high school student and star baseball player, and Gracie Solomon, Grant’s younger sister.
Allegations of child sex abuse
In January 2013, five–year–old Gracie allegedly complains to her mother that she doesn’t like it when Aaron bathes her, that he puts things inside her, and that it hurts.
Angie is shocked by the allegations and purportedly confronts Aaron, who admits to the abuse but says he will take the kids away from Angie if she tells anyone. In response, Angie meets with Dr. Michael Reed, a psychiatrist, to plan how to ensure her safety and that of the children.
Over the coming months, many more troubling events occur, including alleged embezzlement by Aaron from Grace Christian School, where both children attended school. The evidence seems clear that Aaron indeed stole, but the school states under oath that he did not.
So why did the school do this? The answer is simple: Grace Christian Academy and Grace Chapel Church, although legally distinct entities, are the “society” digs for Nashville, where Governor Lee and administration figures send their kids for education, to worship, and to hobnob with the rich and powerful.
So, Aaron was part of the “inner circle” even though he privately told family members he is an atheist.
And while there were signs of possible abusive conduct early in their marriage, things really turn south on May 9, 2013, when Aaron allegedly tries to strangle Angie with an electrical cord. Grant witnesses the event, yet Aaron allegedly lies to law enforcement and the hospital, claiming Angie attempted suicide.
Angie is later admitted to Parthenon Centennial for observation. She tells doctors about Aaron’s effort to kill her, and they conclude that she is telling the truth and is not suicidal. Moreover, they urge her to develop an escape plan for herself and the kids and insist that she file for a protective order. Angie does file and obtain a restraining order against Aaron.
Child custody issues
But when Angie returns home from her overnight hospital stay, she faces another surprise: there’s no sign of Grant, Gracie, or Aaron. So Angie tries calling Aaron and her parents, but no one returns her calls.
By Mother’s Day, Angie is hoping that Aaron will bring the kids home so they can celebrate the day together. But instead, Aaron allegedly has called the police, claiming that Angie is suicidal. Yet when police show up at the house, they quickly realize they’ve been given false information and leave without taking any additional action.
By now seriously alarmed, Angie calls the local police department to try to locate her children. Initially, the police seem to take things seriously–right up until a supervisor calls Aaron, at which point the whole thing becomes a case of “Who are you, again?” Subsequently, Angie tries another tactic to get her children back. Under pressure from her complementarian father and Aaron, Angie drops the restraining order, hoping to see her children again.
Nothing improves. But working through a lawyer friend, Angie learns that Aaron has filed for divorce and a protective order against Angie on behalf of himself and the children. Soon afterward, Aaron comes home, purportedly telling Angie that he and the kids will stay if she obeys his instructions. But the lull doesn’t last long.
On May 27, 2013, Aaron gets the kids up early and tells them they are going to get apple fritters for Angie’s breakfast. They drive to the donut shop, but the kids realize on the way back that they are not headed home. In a panic, Grant opens the car door to try to jump out, but Aaron grabs his wrist so hard that Grant thinks it’s broken.
Soon after, the divorce case is heard. The judge disregards almost all evidence presented in Angie’s favor. And just a few weeks later, Aaron issues a $1,000 check to the judge’s re–election campaign—odd since he was running unopposed.In October, the family court sends Angie for a forensic psychiatric examination, with the court choosing Dr. Freeman to conduct the evaluation. His report agrees with three previous evaluations, finding Angie to be a “loving, caring, and capable mother.” But Aaron’s attorney claims that Angie lied during the evaluation, and the court ignores the report of its own expert. By this time, Angie’s realized that she needs to document Aaron’s behavior, so she takes copious notes.
Finally, in February 2014, Aaron lets Angie see her children again, but only for brief periods of time.
In November, at a basketball game, Gracie has a few moments alone with her mother. Gracie says her father is still sexually abusing her. Horrified but knowing that Aaron will deny everything, Angie records a snippet of the conversation using her mobile phone.
That December, Aaron tells the kids he won’t allow them to see Angie for Christmas. They cry, as it is the second Christmas without their mother.
Over the coming months, more parents and officials at Grace Christian Academy become aware of issues withAaron, including allegations that he is grooming girls at the school. Indeed, Angie even contacts a prominent attorney, Kurt Beasley, who is an elder at the church, saying, “I am afraid for my life and that of my children.” Beasley allegedly brushes her off, saying there’s nothing he can do.
By August 2018, Grant and his sister ran away from their father for the first time. Aaaron sends two sheriff’s deputies to pick up the kids and try to scare them into absolute obedience. Subsequently, Heather Webb, a local attorney, is appointed guardian ad litem for the kids.
On August 16–18, Aaron takes Gracie to Cary, NC, for one of Grant’s baseball tournaments. Gracie is so visibly terrified that Webb does something she never otherwise does, which is to put her personal cell phone number on the back of her business card and tell Gracie to call her, night or day if anything happens.
On the way back from Grant’s tournament, Aaron gets a hotel room with a single bed. Gracie is terrified, and Aaron allegedly sexually abuses her that night—but in later testimony, claims that, since he was already aware of allegations he sexually assaulted Gracie, he slept with pillows between them. That begs the issue—if he is worried about these allegations, why not get two rooms?
On August 31, Aaron shows up at Grace Christian Academy to pick up Gracie, despite promising not to do so in family counseling. Gracie is terrified, races to the headmaster’s office, and complains that her father is abusing her. The school brushes things off and forces Gracie to go with her father.
In September, Magistrate Cabell holds a hearing to decide custody issues involving the kids. He refuses to take testimony from Grant’s friends and tells Grant and Gracie they can stay with Angie. Later he reverses himself and says that Grant’s “a big boy” and “can take care of himself.” Grant is philosophical, saying, “If I go with him, he can’t hurt Gracie.”
On September 21, the kids run away to Angie’s home again. Despite the court’s order, Angie can’t bring herself to send Grant back to Aaron’s home. At this point, Grant has had enough and demands a meeting with the elementary school principal. He demands that they quit trying to prevent Gracie from talking about her situation, but they quickly cut him off and say they are trying to protect her from her own bad reputation and that she is responsible for being abused.
Grant dies
In the coming weeks, Grant tells multiple friends that he thinks people will take him more seriously when he turns 18 and that he is going to sue his father in an effort to protect his sister. He sets up a meeting with Pastor Steve Berger to discuss his plans.
A few days later, Grant dies mysteriously at a baseball training center in Gallatin, TN, of a single, massive wound to the back of his head. I believe, but cannot prove, that Berger tipped off Aaron Solomon about his plans. But Berger says Grant came to him to talk about how to get closer to Jesus. Sorry, but if your sister is being abused, getting closer to Jesus won’t be at the top of your list.
Chillingly, Grant asked his mother that morning if she was home that day. When she said yes, and asked why, Grant said, “I don’t want to die in Gallatin today.”
Aaron is the only witness, and he claims that Grant’s truck rolled over him. But Grant’s body shows no scrapes or burns consistent with being dragged almost 60 feet across the pavement. And when first responders show up, they see no sign of three witnesses that Aaron claims were there moments ago or the white van they were in. Other things don’t add up. One of Grant’s baseball bats went missing and was never recovered. And while head wounds bleed like crazy, there was only minor blood on the scene.
Grant was extricated from under his truck, still fighting for his life, but died on the way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Grant’s girlfriend, who shared a Life 360 account with Grant, noticed that his cell phone was traveling around Gallatin. She said something to Grant’s parents, but Aaron cut her off, saying, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
Aaron brought Grant’s phone back the next day with the screen broken. But photos taken at the scene show the phone was intact, and the truck was in park when it came to rest above Grant. The Gallatin police filled out a cursory report but didn’t interview family members other than Aaron. Nor did they examine the truck’s black box, which revealed it was driven to its resting point. And they ignored the fact that Grant’s injuries were inconsistent with his purported cause of death.
Soon after, Aaron preached at Grant’s funeral, where he made what sounded oddly like a sales pitch about how Grant was now on the greatest baseball field of all—the one in heaven. This, despite his alleged atheism.
And behind the scenes, something scary had already happened. When the family showed up at the funeral home for a private viewing, Angie insisted on seeing Grant’s entire body. The embalmer was visibly reluctant but complied. Angie and Gracie were shocked to discover that Grant’s ankles had allegedly been broken in order to fit him into the casket. This makes no sense, as even at 6’4″, Grant easily fit the casket.A complaint has been filed against the funeral home in question, which denies the allegations.
What next?
So far, Gallatin officials have refused to reopen the case, with the acting chief of police being profoundly rude to bloggers who call him. The guardian ad litem says she believes Aaron killed his son and used his power and connections to cover it up. You can read her report verbatim.
And even though Aaron allegedly took his daughter across state lines for illicit purposes, nothing has been done.
Still worse, as Angie and Gracie push for justice — including a big vigil in downtown Nashville – they are being blocked on every front. “That’s already been investigated,” is the party line. But a piece of paper in a file is not an investigation, and the Gallatin investigation doesn’t even meet minimum standards of police conduct.
Meanwhile, the new attorney general, who, like Governor Lee, has ties to the inner circle at Grace Chapel, refers to the place of Grant’s death as a “crime scene” but says we may never know what really happened due to a lack of evidence. But that’s the whole point—the reason there’s a lack of evidence is because there has been no autopsy, no accident investigation, no tracking of cell phone signals in the area, and more.
Speaking of cell phones, how did Aaron know where to find them? And why did he tell people at the funeral that someone found it and “came to Jesus” as a result, and even kept it charged while it was in his possession? For the record, the Life 360 data shows it was not charged during this time. And our investigation reveals no one coming to Jesus over this issue — although we did identify some very questionable people with connections to the case.
We’ve also received disturbing, unconfirmed allegations that Aaron has groomed other minor females and sexually assaulted at least one adult. Recall that these are unproven allegations, but they suggest Aaron may continue to be a threat to his former family and others.
So, if you are inclined, here are ways you can help:
Please read the complete timeline Angie developed in this matter, found athttps://www.freedom4gracie.com/timeline
You also can help Gracie with her legal fees at https://www.gofundme.com/f/freedom4gracie.
You can help fund efforts to obtain justice for Grant at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help–get–justice–for–grant.
Contact the FBI tipline https://tips.fbi.gov/home to ask the FBI to investigate the allegations that Aaron took his daughter across state lines for illegal purposes.
Contact the Memphis FBI field office to ask for their help. Info is at https://www.fbi.gov/contact–us/field–offices/memphis/about.
Encourage anyone with information about Grant’s death to come forward. There is a tip hotline
[email protected]. There is a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who killed Grant.
Push for media coverage. Perhaps due to Aaron’s visibility in the TV community, Grant’s death has gotten almost no attention.
Share information on social media.
And for the record, I vetted Grant, his sister, and his mother carefully before taking on this story.
Indeed, one kid at Grant’s school, often bullied, recounted how Grant insisted that people not bully him. “If you want to be friends with me, you don’t bully other people,” Grant reportedly said. Universally, adults and young people alike say Grant was kind, loving, fiercely protective of his mother and sister, a great athlete, and someone anyone would be proud to know.
The least we can do is to help Grant, Gracie, and Angie find justice and some peace in their lives.
Gracie’s Story-A Cry for Help
Anna’s Testimony
