The Murder of Grant Solomon Part 2

Of Course, He Knows Everyone!

Aaron was incredibly well-connected. He went to church with many high-level court members, as well as the current governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee. Aaron had been attending that church for years and everyone there had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. Everyone at school thought the same, despite the allegations that Gracie and Grant had disclosed to MANDATORY REPORTERS WHO DID NOT REPORT THE SEXUAL ABUSE. The assumption among everyone was that Angie was simply making these claims and filing these motions to get back at Aaron for divorcing her and taking custody of the children. 

The family was attending court-ordered family therapy, where Aaron had reportedly promised not to pick Gracie up from school. On August 31st, he did exactly that. As soon as she saw her father, Gracie ran to the elementary school headmistress’s office crying and texting her mother. She told the headmistress, Rona Branson, about what her father had done to her. She was alleged to be dismissive of the claims, calling in the headmaster, Robbie Mason. Gracie said that Mason looked at her and said, “That’s old news Gracie, now get in the car with your dad”.

On September 16th, the same judge who’d refused to watch Gracie’s video testimony held a new hearing regarding custody. Two of Grant’s friends attended, planning to testify for their friend, but the judge wouldn’t allow it. Surprisingly though, the judge agreed to watch the forensic interview that he’d refused at the prior hearing. Partially through, the judge stopped the video and said that he’d seen enough. He ruled that the children could stay with Angie, however he later decided that only Gracie would stay with Angie FOR NOW. He reportedly stated that Grant was a “big boy” and could “take care of himself”.

Shortly after, both Gracie and Grant left their father’s house, running away to Angie’s. She couldn’t send them back, regardless of what the courts said.

In another unsurprising move by Grace Christian Academy, Gracie was called in by administrators and instructed to stop talking about her allegations of abuse. After hearing about this, Grant was fed up. He refused to go back to school unless he could meet with the principal, good ol’ Rona Branson, the one who’d already ignored Gracie’s reports. He met with her and three other school officials. Reportedly, the group of administrators simply defended themselves, saying that they were just trying to keep Gracie from creating a “bad reputation” for herself. 

Grant never stopped advocating for himself, his mother, and Gracie, right up until his death. Having recently turned 18, Grant was legally an adult, and planned on using this advantage to help him speak for his little sister. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to do that before he died.

Inconsistencies

That brings us to July 20th, 2020, the day of Grant’s death. Angie immediately knew that this was no accident. There were so many strange things about Aaron’s report of what had happened that day. Despite the inconsistencies and overal weirdness, police quickly ruled Grant’s death as an accident and closed the “investigation”. However, the more Angie continued to look into what had happened, the more things she found that clearly pointed to something VERY different from what Aaron said happened that day.

• During Aaron’s 911 call, he continued to refer to the “three men” he had there helping. Aaron never went down into the ditch to talk to or comfort his son. One witness, who saw the scene while the 911 call was in progress, said that Aaron was pacing back and forth while on the phone, at the top of the lot. Some say that they can hear other voices in the background of the 911 call, but I don’t hear shit. These “three men” have never been found, identified, or even proven to have been there. No one saw them but Aaron.
• Oh and BY THE WAY- you’d think Aaron would have been surprised AF to see these “three guys” there that day b/c according to Facility manager Tyler Mark, Aaron had specifically requested the facility to remain closed to the public until Grant was done with his practice that day. This was not a typical protocol, but WPI agreed to honor Aaron’s request.
• Aaron said that Grant had been grabbing his gear out of the bed of his truck when it started to roll backwards. Angie said that there was no way that he’d keep his good baseball equipment in the open bed. 
• The lot where the incident took place was on a bit of a slope. At the top of the slope was the building. Aaron said that he and Grant were parked directly in front of the building beside one another. Grant’s truck was found in a ditch at the bottom of the slope, with the front end pointed down in the ditch and the back sticking up out of the ditch and onto the sidewalk. Aaron alleged that the vehicle had rolled down the slope, hit the ditch so forcefully that it bumped back up and out towards the road. There was little to no damage on Grant’s truck, only a back bumper that had been pulled off. (This was reported by Toyota to be normal, that the Tacoma’s bumpers would damage or fall off with just slight provocation.) The ditch was ditch-y enough that if the truck bed struck the bottom, it didn’t seem to make sense that it would just roll out towards the road. There were no marks in the grass indicating that tires had rolled over it. There were however, tire tracks leading from the sidewalk area into the ditch.
• The position of Grant’s body was an immediate red flag to Angie. If Grant had in fact, been standing at the back of the truck, it had rolled back and over him, he would’ve likely been dragged down the slope head first, on his back. Weirdly, Grant was found face up with his head facing the building. He was approximately 6’3 and 210 pounds. It would’ve been nearly impossible for his body to reposition itself in that way underneath the truck.
• When Grant’s body was inspected at the hospital, he was found to only have a few injuries: three bruises, one on his left hip, his right thigh, and his jaw, as well as a bleeding laceration on the back of his head. His death was determined to be caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Grant had no abrasions or road rash that one might expect on someone who was dragged down an asphalt lot underneath a vehicle. He had no burns from what was likely the very hot underneath of a vehicle after having just driven one hour and been parked for 15 minutes. He’d been wearing shorts and a t-shirt, so much of his skin would’ve been exposed. Additionally, there was no blood found on the asphalt.
• The only blood found at the scene was on one of the rocks in the ditch. The portion of the ditch where the truck rested had a large pile of medium-big-ish sized rocks. There was noticeable blood on one rock that looked to have spread to the ones around it. 
• Grant’s glasses were found down by the sidewalk. Angie said that Grant couldn’t see well at all without them, and it would’ve been odd for him to be up at the top of the lot without them, and it didn’t make sense that they would’ve flown off him onto the sidewalk. On the Freedom 4 Gracie website managed by Angie, she wrote, “If his glasses are here, the obvious conclusion is that Grant was last standing here, not at the top of the parking lot”.
• Police never checked Aaron’s phone to confirm if he was truly checking his work email at the scene, like he said he was. Grant’s phone was seen at the scene, still intact. It was later returned to Angie by Aaron and the screen was shattered.
• Aaron changed his story several times, saying that Grant was actually getting his gear out of the driver’s side backseat (the truck was a double cab) when the truck began rolling backwards. Angie also reported that someone at the sports complex told her that Grant didn’t even have an appointment that day.

After Grant’s death, Aaron continued to drive his dead son’s truck around. He somehow convinced an insurance claims adjuster that the vehicle was totaled and that it needed to be scrapped. There was no evidence or obvious damage that indicated that the vehicle was totaled. Fortunately, Angie was able to get in touch with the scrap yard before the truck was scrapped and claim it.

Angie reported that she had forensic testing done which proved that the accident couldn’t have happened the way in which Aaron claimed. The Tacoma apparently had a safety feature that wouldn’t allow the engine to be shut off unless it was placed in park. Aaron claimed that Grant had forgotten to put on the parking brake, but independent researchers have tested this theory and don’t find it valid. Angie also reported that when Grant’s vehicle was in the ditch, it was in park with the engine off.

Angie had the Life360 app with her children, an app that was made as a family locator. Grant’s location information showed that he’d been at the sidewalk that day, NEVER at the top of the lot.

Reportedly, Angie, Gracie, and the rest of those who loved Grant believe the following is what really happened that day: Grant was standing on the sidewalk by the road when Aaron drove the Tacoma over the sidewalk, hitting Grant intentionally. Grant would have fallen back, striking his head on the rock, and Aaron pulled the truck up and over his son. This would explain MANY of the inconsistencies found in Aaron’s account.

Despite all of this information, all of the alleged abuse by Aaron against Grant, Gracie, and Angie, the case remains closed and Aaron Solomon remains a free man.

On May 12, 2021, 14-year-old Gracie posted a video she made to YouTube. In the 18 minute long video, Gracie talks about the sexual abuse she suffered from her father and how she doesn’t even want to call him her dad anymore. One of Grant’s friends posted a video supporting Gracie, explaining what she’d seen happen throughout the years. 

Aaron, of course, filed defamation lawsuits against Angie and a group of Gracie’s friends, saying that all of the allegations made in the videos were false. Grace Christian Academy denied knowing anything about the complaints of abuse. 

Since Grant’s case has taken social media by storm, many of the people involved have made statements about their “involvement”, while others have actively avoided the topic. Steve Berger, the founding pastor of Grace Chapel, said that the church “fulfilled their reporting obligations”. This pastor has also reportedly preached in the past that sexual assault claims had to have at least two or three witnesses. Berger publicly exclaimed how he felt like he was being “canceled” and had to close his Twitter account. Oh no…

When Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was asked publicly about whether he’d received any letters from people asking him to open an investigation into Grant Solomon’s death and whether he planned on using his power as governor to investigate his death, Lee responded that all letters like that would go through his Safety Department and they determine whether they need to get involved. Lee said he trusted them to report back to him. 

Aaron Solomon is still living as a free man and reported to still be attending church with the governor and friends at Grace Chapel. Angie, Gracie, and the rest of the world that have learned about Grant’s death continue to fight for justice in a world that has so grossly failed them. If you have any information about Grant’s death or would like to learn more or support his cause, please visit freedom4gracie.com.