The malnourished 4-year-old Harlem boy who died weighing just 19 pounds lived in a hellish, feces-stained home where his callous parents locked up food, prosecutors revealed Thursday as his father went on trial.
Laron Modlin, 25, was held without bail after the court heard disturbing new details about the dire conditions in which little Jahmeik Modlin slowly starved to death.
Food-filled cabinets were locked with child locks in the apartment where Modlin and his wife Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, lived with Jahmeik and three other young children, said Assistant District Attorney Heather Buchanan, describing the conditions found by medical examiners.
“There was a refrigerator with food in it,” she said. “However, the refrigerator was turned towards the wall so that it was not accessible to any of the children unless it was turned over.”
A bedroom at the back of the apartment was covered in human feces, and the stains on the walls appeared to indicate they were made by children, Buchanan told a stunned courtroom.
Jahmeik — who fell unconscious late Sunday before dying hours later at Harlem Hospital, burned and malnourished — had feces matted through his hair, Buchanan said.
New information from the medical examiner showed that the deceased boy’s hair was also thinning, a clear sign of malnutrition, prosecutors said.
The child also had hair on his face, a sign of a prolonged period of dehydration and malnutrition, she said.
Jahmeik was last medically seen in 2022. He weighed 23 pounds at the time, Buchanan said.
“The child not only had muscle loss and no fat on his body,” she said. “The growth of the child itself – the bones – was stunted, further demonstrating the prolonged period of deprivation this child endured.”
“In the two years since he last received medical attention, he has actually lost weight.”
The revelations made during the alleged murderous father’s indictment on manslaughter and child endangerment charges add to an already grim portrait of young Jahmeik’s tragic life in the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. apartment. Blvd. near West 144th Street.
Administration of Children’s Services officials visited the family’s home twice in the past four years, sources told The Post.
One visit concerned reported dire living conditions that were cleared up when workers arrived, a source said.
The other stemmed from the fact that one of Jahmiek’s siblings was born with marijuana in their system, the source said.
The other three children — who were transferred to ACS — remain hospitalized on IV fluids and have not gained weight since being seen by a doctor, Buchanan said.
“They are so malnourished that they are currently on a liquid diet because they cannot have solid food at the moment,” she said.
Modlin, who has not worked in two years, told authorities he “probably did not notice his son’s condition because he often plays video games or is on his phone,” according to a criminal complaint.
After Jahmiek was hospitalized, Modlin left his apartment and essentially went into hiding at a relative’s home, evading questions from police, Buchanan said.
Defense attorney Kayla Smith told the judge that Modlin had significant mental health issues and argued he should be released.
But Judge Beverly Tathan sent him back to jail, where he will await trial.
Ragsdale, Modlin’s wife, had her bail set at $100,000 cash by a different judge during her own arraignment Wednesday on identical charges.
