The raw case of the 4-year-old boy who died of malnutrition in a New York apartment

Jahmeik Modlin was found malnourished, hypothermic and burned in mid-October. According to prosecutors in the case, the apartment where the boy lived was full of food, but with security features so he and his brothers couldn’t take it out.

A child abuse case has outraged New York City in recent weeks. USA .

It concerns a 4-year-old boy who died on October 14, a few hours after his discovery by the authorities. seriously malnourished in an apartment located in the Harlem neighborhood.

The parents of the little boy, identified Jahmeik Modlin they allegedly let him starve to death, prosecutors say. At the time of his death, he weighed just 8.5 kilos, approximately the weight of a one-year-old child.

His three older brothers, who also suffer from malnutrition, remain hospitalized for treatment.

What do we know about the child who died of malnutrition in New York

On the afternoon of Oct. 13, Jahmeik’s mother, Nytavia Ragsdale, called 911 to report that her son was unconscious in their apartment, located on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

New York Police officers and medical personnel quickly rushed to the scene. When they arrived, they discovered the child suffering from malnutrition, hypothermia and chest burns.

Jahmeik was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he died a few hours later. The three older brothers, aged 5, 6 and 7, were also left at the health center. None of them can eat solid foods and are fed intravenously, according to CBS News .

Nytavia Ragsdale She was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. The father was accused of the same charges, Laron Modlin.

New York affair
After Jahmeik’s death, his family sued New York’s child welfare agency.

Signs of abuse

After the announcement of the death of little Jahmeik, a question was widely repeated: How were the signs that the child was being abused by his parents ignored?

As shown The New York Times the family had been in the crosshairs of the child welfare agency, called the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), for several years, even before Jahmeik was born. However, the last complaint against the family, in 2022, was dismissed without any intervention.

The family’s neighbors have said in various interviews that they did not know Ragsdale had children. Others, meanwhile, indicated that although they had heard her mention that she had children, they had never seen them.

“This child lost his life and few people knew him or had seen him. “It’s strange” said the doorman of the apartment where they lived, according to CBS News.

On the other hand, prosecutors provided chilling details about the environment in which the children lived. Their apartment was full of food, however, the pantries were locked and the refrigerator faced the wall, so they couldn’t open it. Meanwhile, the walls of the children’s bedroom were covered in feces.

While testifying to police, Ragsdale said Jahmeik had been vomiting and eating his vomit for several weeks, while Modlin said he didn’t notice his son’s situation because he was looking at his cell phone.

According to reports, Jahmeik and his brothers have not left the apartment, they have not gone to the doctor since 2022 and they have not gone to school, even though it is compulsory from the age of 6 .

The request

On October 24, the mother’s sister, Nyisha Ragsdale decided to file a complaint against the child welfare agency over the death of her nephew according to the woman’s lawyers.

According to the lawsuit, ACS knew about the episodes of abuse the children were suffering and through negligence failed to prevent Jahmeik’s death.

“Failed in his duty to ensure the safety of Jahmeik Modlin, despite multiple reports of domestic violence, malnutrition and unsafe conditions within the home. » detail court documents, according to the American press.

The family had been reported to the agency four times between 2019 and 2022. In the first time, Ragsdale was accused of hitting Modlin in front of their children, which is considered a form of child neglect. However, at that time it was not reported that the children were malnourished.

In the latest complaint, a neighbor said a bad smell was coming from the family’s apartment and that it appeared Modlin had hit the mother of his children. After a social worker came to the home and found that the children had eczema, she asked Ragdsale to take them to the doctor. The case was eventually closed.

Nyisha Ragsdale’s Lawsuit Now Demands $40 Million “for a death that should never have happened if ACS had done its job” detailed the lawyer, Sanford A. Rubinstein. Nyisha also intends to gain custody of Jahmeik’s siblings.

Source: Latercera

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share article

Latest articles

Newsletter

Subscribe to stay updated.