A mother who nearly starved her three-year-old daughter to death in a filthy, cockroach-infested apartment has been jailed.
Rabyah Nadhirah Muballigh, 26, pleaded guilty to assault and child endangerment in the worst case prosecutors have ever seen.
She was sentenced on Thursday to seven to 10 and a half years in prison, and the girl’s father, Corey Michael Moody, 29, is due in court on Oct. 7.
The girl weighed just 15 pounds when she was rescued from the house of horrors in Fairborn, Ohio, on January 8 after her mother made a false 911 call.
Shocking body camera footage shows the moment Ohio police found an emaciated 3-year-old girl in a filthy apartment
The girl weighed just 16 pounds when she was rescued from the house of horrors in Fairborn, Ohio, on January 8 when her mother made a fake 911 call
Rabyah Nadhirah Muballigh, 26, pleaded guilty to assault and child endangerment in the worst case prosecutors have ever seen
As officers entered the building, someone could be heard shouting “oh my God” on shocking bodycam footage as they waded through the trash-filled home.
When they entered the child’s bedroom, they found her unconscious in a corner of the room, next to a dirty mattress covered in insect bites.
Moody, who also lived in Fairborn, was also arrested and charged with child endangerment, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. He is in jail after failing to post $100,000 bail.
Muballigh called 112 anonymously, pretending to be a concerned passer-by and not the girl’s mother.
“There is a child on 308 Wallace who is having trouble breathing right now and she needs to get to the hospital as soon as possible,” she said.
At first, police thought the child was dead, but later she was heard saying, “Oh, she’s still breathing, she’s still breathing, let’s go, let’s go.”
Police carry the child out of the apartment after rescuing her
Bodycam footage shows mountains of trash in the apartment and court documents describe the scene as “messy and dirty”
Garbage can be seen being spat out on the floor in the room where the girl was found
While checking the girl, the officers tore away blankets that were serving as curtains to let more light into the room.
“Inside they found a small child who was conscious but not alert. He was immediately taken by Fairborn medical personnel and transported to a local hospital,” police said.
The girl’s bedroom was littered with bottles, sticky fly traps, and the mattress was covered in urine and feces. At one point, a cockroach scurried across the wall.
There were piles of trash strewn throughout the apartment, and court documents described it as “cluttered and dirty.”
“Various insects were observed crawling on the walls, floors and beds. A definite infestation of cockroaches was observed in each of the two bedrooms and other areas of the apartment,” an affidavit said.
‘There were dead insects and moldy food in the refrigerator and freezer.’
The girl’s father, Corey Michael Moody, 29, is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 7 on charges of child endangerment, obstructing justice and tampering with evidence.
Muballigh is arrested outside her apartment complex after police convince her to return
According to police, several insects were observed crawling on the walls, floors and beds, and moldy food was found in the refrigerator.
The apartment was later found to be unfit for human habitation and was foreclosed on by Fairborn Code Enforcement.
“She has a long road to recovery, but she continues to gain some weight. But again, she’s probably going to be in hospital for a while,” Sergeant Nathan Penrod said at the time.
Muballigh left after calling 911, but police said they were able to convince her to come back and then arrest her.
The 25-year-old woman told police she fled because she was scared and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Greene County District Attorney David Hayes said this was the worst case of child abuse he had seen in his 20-year career.
“Muballigh is going to prison for several years, as she should be. Her primary responsibility was to care for that child and she failed to do that and caused that child serious physical harm,” he said.
The police open a door and, like the rest of the apartment, are not happy with what they find
There were piles of trash strewn throughout the apartment, and court documents described it as “cluttered and dirty.”
The apartment was later found unfit for human habitation and was condemned by Fairborn Code Enforcement
Muballigh took her daughter to the doctor only once and instead prayed for the little girl every night for six months.
“I should have sought help sooner so she wouldn’t have gotten so hurt,” she told the court. WHIO reported.
“I just gave up. I stopped getting out of bed, I stopped showering, I stopped eating. The only time I got up was to feed her, but that wasn’t enough. I should have done more.”
Muballigh’s lawyer Lucas Wilder explained that she had “extreme mental health issues” after a difficult childhood and that she had given up another child for adoption and a third child was stillborn.
The girl was sent to her sister’s adoptive family.