A malnourished 4-year-old Harlem boy who died weighing only 19 pounds was living in a hellish, shit-filled house where his insensitive parents locked up food, his father said Thursday as he faced a judge. The prosecutor's office revealed that.
Laron Modlin, 25, was ordered held without bail after the court learned disturbing new details about the squalid conditions in which young Jermeik Modlin slowly starved to death.
In the apartment where Modlin and his wife, Nitavia Ragsdale, 26, lived with Germeik and their three other young children, a cabinet filled with food was sealed with a child lock, the assistant district attorney said. Heather Buchanan explained the circumstances the coroner found.
“There was food in the fridge,” she said. “But the fridge was facing the wall, so none of the kids could access it unless it was turned around.”
Buchanan told a stunned court that the back bedroom of the apartment was covered in human feces and that dirt marks on the walls matched those left by children.
Germeik, who lost consciousness late Sunday and died hours later of burns and malnutrition at Harlem Hospital, had fecal matter all over his hair, Buchanan said.
New information from the coroner revealed that the boy who died also had thinning hair, a clear sign of malnutrition, prosecutors said.
The child also had hair on his face, a sign of long-term dehydration and malnutrition, she said.
Buchanan said Germeik was last seen in 2022. He weighed 23 pounds at the time.
“He not only lost muscle, but he also lost fat,” she says. “The child's very growth, his bones, were stunted, further demonstrating that he had endured a long period of poverty.”
“I've actually lost weight in the two years since my last doctor's appointment.”
The revelations detailed during the deceased's father's arraignment on charges of manslaughter and child endangerment reveal the already harrowing story of young Germake's tragic life inside an apartment on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. further strengthen the portrait. Near West 144th Street.
Officials told The Post that child welfare officials have visited the family's home twice in the past four years.
One source said there were reports of poor living conditions on some visits, but they were cleaned by the time workers arrived.
Officials said the other case was caused by one of Jameek's brothers being born with marijuana in his system.
The other three children, who were turned over to ACS, remain hospitalized and on IV fluids and have not gained weight since being seen by doctors, Buchanan said.
“They are very malnourished and are eating liquid food because we can't give them solid food at the moment,” she said.
According to the criminal complaint, Modlin, who has not worked in two years, told authorities that she would not have noticed her son's condition because he was often playing video games or using his cell phone. That's what it means.
Buchanan said that after Jameek was hospitalized, Modlin left the apartment and essentially hid in a family home to avoid being questioned by police.
Defense attorney Kayla Smith argued to the judge that Modlin has serious mental health issues and should be released.
However, Judge Beverly Taysan remanded him to prison, where he will await trial.
Modlin's wife, Ragsdale, had bail set at $100,000 cash by another judge Wednesday during her own arraignment on the same charges.
