3-year-old found clinging to life in squalid Ohio apartment

Newly released body camera footage from police in Ohio shows a squalid apartment where a severely malnourished 3-year-old girl was found clinging to life.

Newly released body camera footage from police in Ohio shows a squalid apartment where a severely malnourished 3-year-old girl was found clinging to life. (Video: Fairborn Police Department)

Sgt. Nathan Penrod of the Fairborn Police Department said the child's mother, Rabyah Muballigh, was arrested in connection to the case. He said she was indicted by a grand jury on one count of felony assault and child endangerment.

The girl, said Penrod, only weighed 16 pounds when police found her. She was also covered in bed bug bites.

They thought she was dead when they walked in there," Penrod told The National Desk during a brief phone interview Friday.

A news release noted police responded to the apartment on Jan. 8, where they found the child laying in a room. The child was conscious but not alert.

She's still breathing! She's still breathing! Let's go! Let's go!" one of the officers says in the footage.

The child was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

Footage shows trash and other items strewn throughout the home.

It was an absolute mess," Penrod said, adding that the child's mattress was covered in stains.

He said animal feces, rodents, cockroaches, insects, and flies were found all over the apartment. The carpets and furniture were also stained.

"It was almost on the verge of what I would consider what a hoarder would live in," he said.

Penrod said investigators are working to determine if anyone else lived at the apartment or knew about the state of the home. He also said a cat that lived at the home was tended to and later rehomed.

Separate body camera video shows the moments police arrested Muballigh. In the footage, an officer handcuffs her, and she sounds as if she starts to cry.

A portion of the video is muted, but a detective later tells her he will interview her in about the case.

She asks an officer if he can release the handcuffs and re-cuff her with her hands in front of her, as she says she has spinal problems and the position she was in “really hurts.”

The officer does so, and then Muballigh asks if her child is OK, but the officer tells her he is not aware of the child's condition.

“Right now, you’re being arrested for child endangering at a felony level," the officer says.

Muballigh then starts to cry again.

Penrod said a protection order was put in place against Muballigh and the girl is in the custody of the state. It is yet to be determined who the child will be released to once she is cleared from the hospital.

Penrod said the lead detective in the case has been receiving updates from the hospital about the girl's condition. He said while she's gaining weight, she has a long road to recovery.

They are not able to determine at this time what kind of long-term damage may have been caused, if at all," Pedrod said. "Small progress is being made every week. We are keeping the little girl in our thoughts and prayers constantly."

Muballigh is being held at the Greene County Jail in Xenia, Ohio.