Indictment: Manslaughter charged in Skylar Pettit Rotterdam death (w/ press conference)

Amber Geier and her boyfriend Rickey Loika face a total of 10 charges in connection to Pettit’s death, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday, following a three-day grand jury proceeding brought forward after a monthslong joint investigation by the Rotterdam Police Department and Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office.

Geier, 54, faces top charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, both felonies, for “recklessly causing” Pettit’s death, according to the indictment. She also faces felony charges for endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and concealment of a human corpse and third-degree grand larceny.

Loika, 53, has been charged with felony hindering prosecution and concealment of a human corpse. He has previously been convicted of misdemeanor assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges during an arraignment Thursday. Geier was ordered remanded to the Schenectady County Jail in lieu of $150,000 cash bail, or $300,000 secured bond or $1.5 million partially secured. Loika was released under the supervision of the parole office. Both defendants are due back in court May 21.

Pettit, a 24-year-old with Down syndrome, was an insulin-dependent diabetic since 2014, who relied wholly on Geier — a licensed practical nurse — for care, District Attorney Robert Carney said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

“The theory of the prosecution is that Amber Geier stopped taking appropriate care of Skylar by the summer of 2022, ceasing treatment by any of her physicians and last filling an insulin prescription for Sklar in February of 2022,” Carney said.

Police discovered Pettit’s body on July 21, 2023 after being called to her 1726 Greenpoint Ave. home to complete a welfare check by a concerned staff member at Mohonasen Central School District, where Pettit graduated in 2019, according to Rotterdam police Chief Michael Brown.

“At first, both of these people [Geier and Loika] assured police that Skylar was fine,” Carney said. “When the police asked to see her in person, they admitted that she was deceased for some time and that her body was upstairs, wrapped in plastic and blankets in her bed.”

Geier told police that Pettit had died in April 2023, about five months prior to her body being discovered.

“She [Geier] claimed that she couldn’t bear to leave her [Pettit’s] side, so kept her corpse in her bedroom rather than call authorities,” Carney said.

But prosecutors contend Geier stopped caring for Pettit in the summer of 2022 and last filled her insulin prescription in February 2022 — a year before her death, according to Carney, who said Pettit was “bedridden and wasting away” by February 2023, around the time she died.

“Her body was unable to process carbohydrates and instead was breaking down whatever muscle and fat tissue she had left,” Carney said.

Pettit also had an untreated skin condition that made her susceptible to infection, according to Carney, who said it appears that Geier “just gave up” on caring for her daughter.

“These conditions caused her death due to a cardiac arrhythmia with a possible pneumonia — all resulting from inadequate care of her diabetes by her mother who is also an LPN,” he said.

An autopsy last year determined that Pettit died of “natural causes.” Carney said that a cardiac arrhythmia is still believed to have caused Pettit’s death, but noted the investigation has changed the opinion about what led to the cardiac episode.

Carney noted during the press conference that Pettit was being overseen by an agency, though he did not elaborate on which agency and when the last time was that officials made contact with Pettit. He noted that many agency check-ins have been conducted remotely since the pandemic and that Geier “was not exactly welcoming everyone in to see what was going on.”

“They were unaware of exactly what was going on,” he said.

Geier and Loika could have been charged with concealment of a corpse last year, but authorities agreed to hold off on charges to complete a more thorough investigation into Pettit’s death and determine if additional criminal charges were warranted.

Prosecutors ultimately uncovered evidence of financial crime that included Geier accepting around $5,000 in Social Security benefits on Pettit’s behalf, according to Carney. Charges related to animal cruelty have also been filed in the case.

“It was both a death investigation and a financial crimes investigation, which became an animal cruelty investigation,” Carney said. “All of those things take time. This was an investigation that was built by numerous subpoenas and those things take time.”

Carney said prosecutors considered a more severe charge, but ultimately decided they did not have enough evidence to pursue a case for a depraved murder charge.

“That charge requires proof of a mental state of utter indifference to the welfare of someone,” Carney said. “The proof here is that she [Geier] continued to take care of [Pettit] to some degree. Not enough to keep her alive, but she didn’t show utter indifference, so we felt that that theory of the crime would have been a stretch.”

Both Geier and Laoika also face four counts each of misdemeanor animal cruelty. The couple allegedly harbored four mastiff puppies that had been “bred for sale in filthy and inhumane conditions,” Carney said.

Neither are allowed to own companion animals while the criminal case remains ongoing.

An obituary for Pettit described her as “a beautiful spirit” who loved to sing, dance and cook, and enjoyed eating Subway sandwiches and pork rinds.

“Skylar appreciated family banter and humor,” the obituary read. “She was a beautiful young woman, filled with charisma and wit.”

The indictment comes just days after Robert Buskey of Schenectady was charged with allegedly starving his 5-year-old daughter to death, and weeks after Persia Nelson was indicted for allegedly killing her 10-month-old infant, who was discovered in a drain pipe on the General Electric campus in downtown Schenectady after an extensive search last month.

Carney used Thursday’s press conference to remind individuals that there are services available for those who feel overwhelmed in taking care of their children.

“Just get help,” he said. “If you reach the point where you can’t do it anymore, just don’t let them die.”

Images: Skylar Pettit death investigation press conference (3 photos)