Toddler found in squalid Ohio apartment released from hospital; Mother to appear in court

Publish date: 2024-06-11

FAIRBORN, OHIO (TND) — The Ohio mother who was arrested after authorities found her 3-year-old daughter clinging to life in squalid apartment is set to appear in court.

Rabyah Muballigh is scheduled for a suppression hearing at Greene County Common Pleas Court on Thursday, according to online records.

Muballigh was indicted by a grand jury on one count of felony assault and child endangerment.

Body camera footage from police shows the moment authorities rescued the child in the filthy home.

Sgt. Nathan Penrod of the Fairborn Police Department said the child was severely malnourished. She was treated at a hospital for an extended period of time and slowly gained weight.

The little girl was discharged after showing significant improvement," Penrod said in a recent email to The National Desk.

The child, 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 previously told The National Desk.

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.

Footage shows trash and other items strewn throughout the home.

It was an absolute mess," Penrod previously 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.

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, with Muballigh then starting to cry again.

The National Desk will have an update once we hear more about Thursday's hearing.

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