Parents accused of starving 4-year-old Harlem boy ate fresh food daily: DA
HARLEM, N.Y. (PIX11) --- The Manhattan parents accused of killing their 4-year-old son allegedly starved all their children for years while treating themselves to fresh food daily, prosecutors said.
Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, and Laron Modlin, 25, were indicted Wednesday for murder, manslaughter, assault, and criminally negligent homicide in connection to the death of Jah’Meik Modlin last month, authorities said. The boy weighed 19 pounds when he died.
“Today his parents are indicted for allegedly killing him through extreme physical neglect and persistent abuse with depraved indifference for his life," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
The parents allegedly filled their fridge with fresh food but turned it to the wall so their four kids couldn't open it, according to court records. Any cabinet containing food had a zip tie on the handle.
Jah'Meik's siblings, ages 5, 6, and 7, are still hospitalized for malnutrition and slowly recovering their lost motor skills, including being able to hold utensils, according to court records.
"Jah’Meik and his siblings were not in school and had not seen a doctor in over two years. The defendants kept any family or friends from visiting in person, limiting communication to phone or video chats, continuing to isolate the children, and hiding each of their deteriorating conditions," prosecutors said.
Police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious child in a home on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem around 7:45 p.m. on Oct. 13, according to authorities. The boy died of neglect and malnutrition the next morning.
Jak'Meik and his siblings had dirt under their nails and feces stuck in their hair when they arrived at the hospital, officials said. Prosecutors said one room in the three-bedroom apartment was covered in filth and debris, including feces on the walls.
“The death of Jah’Meik Modlin, an innocent four-year-old child, is a tragedy that has scarred this city. That he died a slow and painful death, starving alongside his older siblings, somehow isolated in the heart of Harlem, is a stain on our collective conscience,” Bragg said.
Ragsdale pled not guilty during her arraignment on Wednesday and is being held without bail, according to court records.
Modlin will be arraigned on Nov. 13.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.