The parents of Jahmeik Modlin, a 4-year-old boy who starved to death at his Harlem apartment last month, have been indicted on charges of second-degree murder, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
The couple, Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, and Laron Modlin, 25, were initially charged last month with second-degree manslaughter. The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg Jr., said the additional, higher charge was warranted because Jahmeik’s parents had caused his death “through extreme physical neglect and persistent abuse with depraved indifference for his life.”
Jahmeik weighed only 19 pounds when paramedics found him dying at home on Oct. 13. His three older siblings — ages 5, 6 and 7 — were also severely malnourished and remain hospitalized, prosecutors said.
The couple “actively starved” the children for about two years but bought food for themselves every day, prosecutors said in a statement. The apartment’s refrigerator, with fresh produce inside, was kept turned to the wall, and cupboards with food were secured with zip ties, prosecutors said. Jahmeik and his siblings were never enrolled in school and had not seen a doctor in over two years, and their parents kept family members and friends from visiting in person, prosecutors added.
The family had an extensive history with the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, but its last case was closed in 2022.
In a statement, Mr. Bragg said that Jahmeik had “died a slow and painful death, starving alongside his older siblings, somehow isolated in the heart of Harlem” and called the death “a stain on our collective conscience.” Prosecutors said the boy’s weight was “less than zero percent on the growth chart for children his age.”
Prosecutors said that when Jahmeik last had a medical exam, in August 2022, at the age of 2½, he weighed 23 pounds. That is also severely underweight. The Administration for Children’s Services said it would conduct an “in-depth review” of the family’s case to “identify opportunities to strengthen our policies, practices and services.”
Mr. Modlin and Ms. Ragsdale were also indicted on charges of first-degree assault in connection with the mistreatment of the older children, prosecutors announced.
Second-degree murder is defined as intentionally causing someone’s death and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Second-degree manslaughter is defined as recklessly causing someone’s death and carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, the family’s three-bedroom apartment had only one room with a doorknob, and it had a lock on the outside. The walls of the room “were smeared with feces to the approximate height of a child.” Inside were a few pieces of broken furniture and a mattress propped on its side. All the children had feces matted in their hair.
Prosecutors said that when the surviving children arrived at Bellevue Hospital, they “displayed very limited fine motor skills” and could not feed themselves, but that they were improving.
Ms. Ragsdale’s sister Nyisha Ragsdale, of Brooklyn, is seeking custody of the surviving children and has announced plans to sue the city for not preventing Jahmeik’s death. Mr. Modlin’s mother, Laura Jones, of Georgia, is also seeking custody of the older children.
Jahmeik’s funeral was held last Tuesday at a church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His white-and-gold coffin was closed and a poster nearby depicted him with angel’s wings. Those in attendance included the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
“They should not make boxes that small,” Mr. Williams told the mourners, adding that he had not wanted to attend when he was asked. “I was embarrassed, because it’s us who failed that family. The government failed that family.”
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