This past weekend, New York police received a frantic call from a woman reporting her son was unresponsive. The child died after being rushed to the hospital. However, the toddler's condition was so shocking, police have turned to both of the boy's parents as the suspects in his death.
Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, called 911 Sunday, Oct. 13 to report her son, 4-year-old Jahmeik, was unresponsive, authorities said. Emergency medical services responded to the West 144th Street home and rushed the child to Harlem Hospital, per authorities. Doctors discovered what appeared to be a burn mark on his chest that was later identified as eczema and also determined he suffered from hypothermia, prosecutors said in a hearing Wednesday per The New York Post.
Most remarkably, doctors found the child was suffering from severe malnutrition, weighing only 19 pounds. Regardless of treatment options, medical staff determined the boy wouldn't live to see the next 48 hours.
"This child's weight does not even appear within the growth percentiles. He's below any measurable percentile compared to other children at his age. The child had almost no fat in his body," said Assistant District Attorney Heather Buchanan, per The Post.
On Oct. 14, the boy succumbed to his injuries after being transferred to the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for end-of-life care. The boy's three other siblings were also taken to the hospital and placed on IV fluids due to their inability to eat solid foods, prosecutors said.
Ragsdale, the boy's mother, was arrested the day her son died, per CBS News. She told the police she did not deny her son food, nor did she her other three children. Instead, authorities said she tried to feed her son in small portions because he'd vomit up everything he ate or have consistent diarrhea.
Police arrested the boy's father, 25-year-old Laron Modlin Tuesday. Prosecutors said he told the police he never denied his children food but didn't notice the deteriorating condition of his child. The mother and father were charged with negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. However, Ragsdale's homicide charge was upgraded to second-degree manslaughter, the reports say.
The news of Jahmeik's death shook the community as neighbors told local reporters they didn't even know the child existed until he was dead. Prosecutors said in court this week the boy didn't attend school either.
"One of the biggest things this morning that broke my heart was that nobody knew that this woman had a child. A child was attached to this woman. When you have a 4-year-old child, that child is usually outside playing, being mischievous, everybody knows the kid. Nobody knew a 4-year-old kid and even knew that she has a child?" said community advocate Iesha Sekou to ABC 7 New York.