A Kentucky woman is fighting extradition from Shelby County to face charges in the death of her two year old son.

Jennifer Geiling, 26, of Louisville, Ky, was arrested by local officers on December 30, on a warrant issued out of Jefferson County, Kentucky, on charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree and Reckless Homicide. 

The Shelby County Prosecutor’s Office filed against her as a Fugitive From Justice, as she is fighting extradition back to Kentucky to face the charges.

According to Kentucky Court Records that obtained by the Shelby County Prosecutor, the charges stem from an incident on May 2, 2019, when Geiling’s 2 year-old son was mauled to death by a pit bull.  According to the report and information from an investigator with the Jefferson County, Kentucky Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, this not the first time that the pit bull had injured the child, and the pit bull also had a history of aggression against various others as well, up to the point that one neighbor had previously shot at the dog.  It had a history of attacking and biting people, including its owner, and the Louisville Police Department had responded before to calls regarding the aggressive dog. 

The report indicates that on May 2, 2019, another woman was lying on a bed and watching television with the child when the pit bull (named “King”) jumped onto the bed and immediately grabbed the child by the head and began shaking him violently.  The dog then pulled the child to the floor, where it clamped onto the child’s head/neck area and resumed violently shaking the child.  By the time that two neighbors were able to get the dog to release the child, it was too late. 

One of the neighbors advised that Geiling simply said that the child “always screams and sets the dog off”. 

Officers further noted “The house was absolutely filthy covered in animal feces, visible rats/mice, bugs, clutter, disarray, and an extremely foul odor.”  Geiling was charged with the two offenses by a grand jury.

Geiling had previously been arrested on the case when it was first filed.  She was given court dates, but skipped court and fled to Indiana. 

At her initial hearing in Shelby Superior Court No. 2 on the Fugitive From Justice (extradition) filing, Geiling told Magistrate Jennifer Kinsley that she would not agree to extradition because she thought the case should be dismissed, claiming that she had already suffered enough due to the child’s death.  Prosecutor Brad Landwerlen says the only emotion she showed while making this argument was frustration – stating that her being in custody was interfering with her life. 

Geiling remains in the Shelby County Jail and Landwerlen is working with the Indiana Attorney General, the Kentucky Attorney General, and the Governor to obtain a Governor’s Warrant to compel extradition to Kentucky to face the charges.