Five-year-old's death being investigated by Sheriff's Office - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Bond denied for Purple Heart Vet accused of beating five-year-old to death

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Soren Victoria Chilson (Lancaster Funeral Home) Soren Victoria Chilson (Lancaster Funeral Home)
Courtesy: Killeen Daily Herald Courtesy: Killeen Daily Herald

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LANCASTER, SC (WBTV) -

Wednesday morning, bond was denied for a Lancaster County man accused of beating and killing his girlfriend's five-year-old daughter.

Lancaster County Deputies arrested 27-year-old Phillip Bryan Gleason Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Barry Faile says Gleason was babysitting the girl while her mother was at work. Faile says Gleason and the girl's mother have been in a relationship for at least 6 months.

WBTV confirmed Gleason served in the Army and received the Purple Heart after he was wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq. WBTV received a picture from the Killeen Daily Herald of Gleason receiving his Purple Heart.

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and EMS responded just after midnight Tuesday morning to what was initially classified as a "medical emergency" at a home on Craig Farm Road.

Crews found five-year-old Soren Victoria Chilson unresponsive in the bathroom.

Chilson was taken to the hospital, where she died.

Officials found what they called "suspicious injuries" on Chilson's body.

The Sheriff's Office said, "Based on observations at the hospital, the death was deemed suspicious and we started an investigation."

An autopsy Tuesday morning found the little girl died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Gleason was the only person home with the child at the time she was hurt.

Gleason is charged with Homicide by Child Abuse. He is in the Lancaster County Detention Center.

Officials say the investigation is ongoing.

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