A Jefferson County judge recently ordered the reunification of a one-year-old U.S. citizen with its biological mother, whom authorities had accused of trying to kill the child. The decision sparked outrage from an advocacy group and at least one state lawmaker.
Family Court Judge Angela Johnson issued the ruling on Aug. 25, according to the KY Child Fatality Project, an advocacy group founded by Oldham County mother Jennifer Mortenson. Because Kentucky keeps family court proceedings confidential, a copy of Johnson’s order was not immediately available.
The ruling came about a month after the child’s mother, Marlena Reynosa, pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court to second-degree wanton endangerment, according to court records. A grand jury had originally indicted her on charges of attempted murder, criminal abuse of a child and second-degree assault. Prosecutors dismissed the first two charges and reduced the third to second-degree wanton endangerment.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Melissa Bellows sentenced Reynosa to 340 days of time served. Reynosa, who is from Guatemala, had remained in the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections since Aug. 5, 2025, when Louisville police arrested her for allegedly attempting to kill her then-newborn baby. According to a police report, the then-19-year-old Reynosa brought the newborn to Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital on Aug. 2, 2025, the day the child was born.
The report stated that the baby had several lacerations on multiple parts of its body. Arresting Officer Joseph Hornback said the injuries were inconsistent with Reynosa’s claim that she had only used scissors to cut the baby’s umbilical cord. According to Hornback’s report, Reynosa allegedly told nurses that she had tried to kill the baby because she did not want it.
Reynosa is in the country without legal permission and was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Louisiana after her sentencing, according to the KY Child Fatality Project. Mortenson said the child remains in foster care and is scheduled to be transferred to Reynosa’s attorney on Sept. 7 before being handed over to ICE for reunification with Reynosa. Mortenson said the pair will then be deported to Guatemala.
Mortenson has voiced outrage over Johnson’s decision and joined State Rep. Tina Bojanowski in bringing attention to the case in hopes of preventing the transfer.
Bojanowski, a Democratic lawmaker from Jefferson County, said in a phone interview that reunifying the child with her biological mother could be the right decision. However, she said too many unanswered questions remain to ensure the child’s safety and well-being.
“Is the mother’s attorney going to just hand the baby over to an ICE officer? Are they going to fly the child to Louisiana, where the mother is? Will the baby be staying in a detention center? Is that in the best interest of the child?” Bojanowski asked.
Johnson was scheduled to consider motions to pause the transfer on the afternoon of Sept. 4, according to Mortenson. Following a brief hearing, one of the foster parents declined to answer questions from a Courier Journal reporter outside Johnson’s courtroom.
Mortenson said Johnson denied the foster parents’ motion to intervene and did not allow them to address the court. She also said Johnson warned the foster parent who attended the hearing that she would impose jail time if he or anyone else spread false information.
Bojanowski said the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the state agency responsible for overseeing foster care and adoption, opposed reunification. Meanwhile, the guardian ad litem in the case — an attorney appointed by the court to represent the child — supported it.
Beth Fisher, a spokesperson for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a statement that courts, rather than the agency, make custody decisions.
“There remains an ongoing legal case where a family court judge reviewed Reynosa’s child custody case and ruled custody should be returned to the mother, a ruling supported by the county attorney and guardian ad litem assigned to the case,” Fisher said.
However, Josh Abner, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office, which handles cases involving allegations of dependency, neglect and abuse, disputed Fisher’s description.
“The County Attorney’s Office has no role in post-disposition matters in Dependency, Neglect, and Abuse cases,” Abner said in a statement, including the capitalization. “As such, the County Attorney’s Office deferred to the Guardian ad Litem, who is an attorney appointed by the court to represent the best interests of the child. Our office had no role in and was not present in today’s hearing before the court.”
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