Parents charged after 4-year-old weighing 19 pounds dies
A community is mourning the death of a 4-year-old boy who they never saw.
Jahmeik Modlin was found Sunday unconscious in his family's New York home. Prosecutors said Modlin, who weighed 19 pounds, was starving and dehydrated.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Heather Buchanan, Chief of the Child Abuse Unit, called it a "long period of deprivation endured by this child" and arguedModlin's cause of death was severe malnourishment.
The boy's parents, 26-year-old Nytavia Ragsdale and 25-year-old Laron Modlin, allegedly isolated their children in their home and starved them, while cutting off contact with others.
Reports indicated that prosecutors in court said Modlin and his siblings had never attended school.
Police responded to the Harlem home after Ragsdale called 911 and reported her child was unresponsive.Modlin was rushed to the hospital and was pronounced dead, according to New York police. At that time a police said a person of interest was taken into custody as the investigation into the boy's death was ongoing.
The boy's death raised questions in the community about the family.
Neighbors of the family told CBS News they didn't know Ragsdale had children.
"I would hear arguments and stuff, but I never knew children live over there," a next-door neighbor told the news agency.
Ragsdale was arrested on Monday and arraigned Wednesday.She was charged with manslaughter in the second degree, as well as endangering the welfare of a child. Her bail was set to $100,000.
Modlin's siblings, ages 5, 6 and 7, are reportedly being treated at a hospital for malnourishment. The surviving children were also found in a similar condition to their brother, according the prosecutor.
The father, who was arrested on Tuesday and charged with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child, denied the allegations to CBS News, "My son was fed." He's yet to be arraigned as he remained in the hospital.
Local media reported thatthe Administration for Children's Services had investigated the parents previously over claims that Jahmeik Modlin was malnourished, but the claims weren't substantiated.
ACS released the following statement
The safety and well-being of New York City's children is our top priority. We are investigating this incident with the NYPD.The medical examiner's office has not released a cause for Modlin's death.
