Fresh food was reportedly bought and stored inside the New York home where a 4-year-old died of starvation, but the child's parents allegedly locked it away to keep for themselves, according to prosecutors.
During a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors alleged that the child's parents, Laron Modlin and Nytavia Ragsdale, would buy fresh food for themselves, but would store it in the refrigerator and turn it facing the wall so that it could not be opened by their children, according to court records obtained by PIX11.
Cabinets containing food were also zip-tied shut, court records stated.
The boy's father called first responders Oct. 13, claiming that Jah'Meik Modlin was unresponsive. The 4-year-old was rushed to the hospital, but died the next morning reportedly weighing just 19 pounds. A medical examiner ruled that he died of dehydration, malnutrition and starvation, as reported by WNBC.
"The death of Jah'Meik Modlin, an innocent 4-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," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Wednesday.
Jah'Meik Modlin's four older siblings, ages 5, 6 and 7, have also been hospitalized for malnutrition. The children were reportedly unable to feed themselves or hold utensils, according to court records.
"Since admission to the hospital, each child has gained more weight in the past two weeks than they did in the past two years," Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Heather Buchanan said in court, as reported by the New York Post.
Ragsdale and Laron Modlin were indicted for murder, manslaughter, assault and child endangerment charges. Ragsdale pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, and Modlin will be arraigned Nov. 14.
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