NYC father arrested, mother charged after 4-year-old son dies
HARLEM - A Harlem father has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of his 4-year-old son, just days after the boy’s mother was charged with the same offenses.
Laron Modlin, 25, now faces charges of criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child, following the arrest of 26-year-old Nytavia Ragsdale earlier in the week.
Outside the apartment building where 4-year-old Jahmeik Modlin spent his short, tragic life, residents have placed teddy bears, candles and balloons in memory of the child.
Neighbors told FOX 5 they rarely saw him outside.
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Modlin's mother, Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, has been charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, police said.
According to the NYPD, officers responded to a 911 call about an unconscious child on Sunday.
When they arrived at the family's apartment on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, they found the 4-year-old boy unresponsive. He was rushed to Harlem Hospital but died hours later.
Sources say the child appeared severely undernourished, and there are reports that social services had previously visited the home.
While Laron Modlin did not live with the mother, sources close to the investigation say he was the one who called 911 on Sunday night and told them his son was unconscious.
Sources said doctors and staff did everything they could to keep the child alive, but Modlin was pronounced dead Monday morning around 5:50 a.m.
Now in Harlem, there is outrage, but most of all, sadness.
"I feel like it's a blessing to have a child. If you can't take care of a child, then you shouldn't have them. You know, put them up for adoption," resident Robert Paulin said. "I have got 23 grandchildren and I lost one two years ago. Children are our future."
Police and emergency personnel have ensured that the other children in the home are safe, but the exact cause of the boy’s death is still under investigation, according to the medical examiner.