BUTLER TOWNSHIP -- A man from Schuylkill County is accused of killing a little boy almost two years ago.
The 4-year-old boy died in October of 2013 from head injuries.
Phillip Moeller is charged with involuntary manslaughter for that little boy's death. Moeller was arraigned Monday, almost two years after Tanner Geiger died.
Tanner Geiger, 4, loved pizza, monster trucks, and digging for worms. Tanner was from Pine Grove. He died in 2013.
Now, Phillip Moeller is charged with killing that little boy.
Geiger was the grandson of Moeller's girlfriend at the time. Moeller was watching Tanner on October 9, 2013 at a home on Carrie Street near Ashland.
According to court papers, Moeller called Butler Township police after the 4-year-old boy stopping breathing.
Tanner was taken to Geisinger Medical Center near Danville, where he died a few days later.
Moeller told police he was playing with the child, log-rolling him onto the bed, when Tanner hit his head
But medical experts said the little boy's injuries were too severe for that.
After Geiger died, Butler Township police say that Moeller told them, "I might have been a little more forceful. I picked him up but I threw him a little harder."
And that he was, "frustrated and upset with Tanner and doing something that he regretted doing."
Moeller's neighbors in Fountain Springs say they can't believe that, almost two years later, Moeller is being charged with that crime. They also say if Moeller was involved, it must have been an accident.
Joseph Whalen says Moeller would always come by and say hi, but since Tanner's death, he says Moeller keeps to himself.
"I was surprised," said Whalen. "A very nice guy, you don't meet anybody nicer."
The Schuylkill County district attorney says it took almost two years to finally charge Moeller with involuntary manslaughter because it took a long time to gather all of the medical records
"We wanted to make sure that the investigation was complete. There's nothing now that will be further discovered," said Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman.
Moeller is free on bail. He's scheduled to face a judge again later this summer.