St. Helena woman released on bond in toddler death case
A St. Helena Island woman accused of killing her boyfriend's 2-year-old daughter by hitting her in the head with a dumbbell was released on bond Monday, according to court records.
LaQuana Chere Chisolm, 27, charged with homicide by child abuse, was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center after posting a $150,000 bond, according to court records.
Chisolm was watching her boyfriend's daughter at his Seaside Road home on March 4 when the child was struck on the head with a dumbbell, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. Chisolm did not seek medical attention for Phylicia Anaya Garry until her boyfriend's roommate came home several hours later and found the girl unresponsive and foaming at the mouth, assistant solicitor Mary Jordan Lempesis said at a bond hearing in March.
Chisolm was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child March 5, when the child was still alive, and posted a bond of $50,000.
After Garry's death March 6, investigators upgraded Chisolm's charge to homicide and arrested her again.
Chisolm surrendered to Beaufort County Sheriff's Office investigators March 7 and was held at the Beaufort County Detention Center until her release Monday.
She was denied bond March 20, but Judge D. Craig Brown ruled that if the case was not completed by Oct. 24, Chisolm's bond would be set at $100,000.
Chisolm was released on a $150,000 bond -- the $50,000 posted in March, plus the additional $100,000. She will be monitored electronically and is forbidden to be around children younger than 18, according to court records.
A trial date has not been set, Solicitor's Office spokesman Daniel Brownstein said Tuesday.
Chisolm's attorney, Ian Deysach, declined to comment.
Follow reporter Laura Oberle at twitter.com/IPBG_Laura.
Related content:
- St. Helena woman denied bond in toddler death case, March 20, 2014
- Chisolm, wanted in 2-year-old's death, surrenders to Sheriff's Office, March 8, 2014
- 2-year-old critically injured; St. Helena woman charged, March 5, 2014
This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 7:47 PM with the headline "St. Helena woman released on bond in toddler death case."