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 no contest to felonious assault and endangering children in the worst case prosecutors had ever seen.
She was jailed for seven to 10-and-a-half years on Thursday, and the girl’s father Corey Michael Moody, 29, faces trial on October 7.
The girl weighed just 16lbs when she was rescued from the house of horrors in Fairborn, Ohio, on January 8 when her mother made a fake 911 call.
Shocking body camera footage shows the moment Ohio police found an emaciated 3-year-old girl inside a filthy apartment
The girl weighed just 16lbs 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 no contest to felonious assault and endangering children in the worst case prosecutors had ever seen
When officers entered the building, one could be heard on shocking bodycam footage gasping ‘oh my God’ as they waded through the garbage-infested home.
As they entered the child’s bedroom, they found her unresponsive huddled in the corner of the room next to a soiled mattress covered in bug bites.
Moody, who also lived in Fairborn, was arrested as well and charged with endangering children, obstruction of justice, and tampering with evidence. He is jail after failing to post a $100,000 bail.
Muballigh made the anonymous 911 call pretending to be a concerned passerby and not the girl’s mother.
‘There’s a child at 308 Wallace that is currently having trouble breathing and she needs to go to a hospital as soon as possible,’ she said.
At first police thought the child was dead, but could later be 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 throughout the apartment and court documents describe the place as being ‘cluttered and filthy’
Trash is seen spewed on the ground in the room where the girl was found
The officers tore down blankets being used as curtains to get more light into the room as the checked on the girl.
‘Inside they located a small child that was conscious but not alert and was immediately taken by Fairborn medics 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 was running across the wall.
Mountains of trash was scattered throughout the apartment and court documents described it as being ‘cluttered and filthy’.
‘Various bugs were observed crawling on the walls, floors and beds. A clear infestation of roaches was observed in each of the two bedrooms as well as other areas of the apartment,’ the an affidavit read.
‘Inside the refrigerator and freezer were visible dead bugs and moldy food.’
The girl’s father Corey Michael Moody, 29, faces trial on October 7 charged with endangering children, obstruction of justice, and tampering with evidence
Muballigh is apprehended in front of her apartment block after police convinced her to come back
Police said various bugs were observed crawling on the walls, floors and beds and moldy food was found inside the refrigerator
The apartment was later found to be unfit for human occupancy and was condemned by Fairborn Code Enforcement.
‘She’s got a long road to recovery, but she is continuing to gain some weight. But again, she’s probably going to be hospitalized for quite some time,’ Sergeant Nathan Penrod said at the time.
Muballigh left after making the 911 call, but police said they were able to convince her to return then arrested her.
The 25-year-old told police she fled because she was afraid and has post traumatic stress disorder.
Greene County Prosecuting Attorney David Hayes said it was the worst case of child abuse he saw in his 20-year career.
‘Muballigh is going to prison for several years, as she should. Her primary responsibility was to care for that child and she failed to do that and caused that child serious physical harm,’ he said.
Police open a door and, like the rest of the apartment, do not like what they find
Mountains of trash was scattered throughout the apartment and court documents described it as being ‘cluttered and filthy’.
The apartment was later found to be unfit for human occupancy and was condemned by Fairborn Code Enforcement
Muballigh only took her daughter to see a doctor once in her life and instead prayed every night for the little girl for six months.
‘I should have gotten help sooner so she wouldn’t have been hurt the way she was,’ she told the court, WHIO reported.
‘I just kind of gave up. I stopped getting out of bed, I stopped showering, I stopped eating. The only time I was getting up was feeding her, but it wasn’t enough. I should have done more.’
Muballigh’s lawyer Lucas Wilder explained she had ‘extreme mental health issues’ after a difficult childhood and gave up another child for adoption and had a third stillborn.
The girl was sent to stay with her sister’s adoptive family.
