Phillip G. Moeller Jr. admitted Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court that prosecutors could prove he killed a 4-year-old boy in October 2013 in Butler Township.
Moeller, 45, of Fountain Springs, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter, the only charge prosecutors had filed against him.
Judge Jacqueline L. Russell accepted the plea but did not immediately sentence Moeller, although prosecutors and the defendant had agreed to recommend a prison term of nine to 18 months with work release as part of their agreement.
Instead, Russell ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and said she would schedule Moeller’s sentencing at a later date. Moeller remains free on $25,000 percentage bail pending further court proceedings.
“She wants more information and to make sure the family members are present” when she sentences Moeller, Assistant District Attorney David J. Rice said about Russell.
If Russell does not accept the proposed sentence, Moeller would have the right to withdraw his plea and either negotiate a new agreement or take the case to trial.
Butler Township police allege Moeller caused the Oct. 11, 2013, death of Tanner Geiger at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, as the result of an incident two days earlier. Geiger was the grandson of Stephanie Stone, who was Moeller’s girlfriend at the time, according to police.
Geiger died of blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy performed by forensic pathologist Dr. Samuel Land at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown.
Police said Moeller gave different accounts of what happened to Geiger and that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with the defendant’s original story. In an interview on Oct. 24, 2013, at the state police station in Frackville, Moeller said he was “frustrated and upset with Tanner and (did) something that he regretted doing,” according to police.
By pleading no contest, Moeller did not admit committing the crime but offered no defense to it, acknowledged prosecutors had enough evidence to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and agreed to be sentenced as if he had pleaded or been found guilty.
Defendant: Phillip G. Moeller Jr.
Age: 45
Residence: Fountain Springs
Plea: No contest to involuntary manslaughter