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Mother of toddler and owners of dog that killed toddler to face manslaughter charges

Mother of toddler and owners of dog that killed toddler to face manslaughter charges

The mother of a toddler and the owners of an aggressive pit bull face manslaughter charges after her 2-year-old was mauled to death by the dog at their Kentucky home in May.

On Tuesday, the child’s mother, Jennifer Geiling, 25, of Louisville, was charged with reckless homicide after being indicted by a grand jury, says Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff Cooke, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

Jack Charping Jr., 50, and Sharon Charping, 54, who own the dog and live with Geiling, were indicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter, local station WAVE 3 News reports.

On May 2, Jennifer Geiling’s young son, Isaiah Geiling, was attacked by the pit bull at their home in Louisville, just two weeks after the dog had bitten his ear.

On the morning of the attack, the child’s grandmother, Cynthia Coy, raced to a nearby house, banging on the door and screaming for help, neighbor Shelby Chadwell told local stations WLKY and WDRB.

“It was a ferocious dog,” Chadwell told WDRB at the time.

Terrified for the boy, Chadwell’s cousin raced to help and began bashing sticks together to scare the dog away, she said.

Once the dog ran off, Chadwell began performing CPR on the severely wounded child, who was bleeding profusely.

Several officers who arrived also performed CPR on the child before rushing him to a nearby hospital, where he died 75 minutes later, WDRB reported at the time.

“About three weeks ago, he had attacked him and got his ear,” Coy told WLKY. “We even have a picture of it. So, obviously, the dog has attacked him before. Why it happened again, I’m not aware.”

The child died from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the coroner, WAVE 3 News reported.

Authorities do not yet know what triggered the dog or how many times it bit the child, she told the outlet.
The deadly attack left the neighbourhood reeling.

“A lot of people are pretty shook up having to go through that and experience that, including our officers,” McKindley told WLKY.

The dog, known around the neighborhood to be aggressive, was taken into custody by animal services, WLKY reported. It is unclear whether the dog is still alive.

Geiling and the Charpings are scheduled to appear in Jefferson Circuit Court for their arraignments on Monday, online court records show.

They have not yet entered pleas. It is unclear whether they have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.

The Louisville Metro Police Department, Louisville Metro Animal Services, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s calls for comment.

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