Credit: Greene County Jail
Credit: Greene County Jail
Fairborn police were dispatched around 12:50 p.m. Monday to the Fairborn Apartments on Wallace Drive near North Maple Avenue on a report that a young child was in distress and alone in the apartment.
Initially the caller hung up without saying anything but a dispatcher called the number to ask whether they’re is an emergency.
“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,” said the woman who answered. Police later identified her as Muballigh based on the cellphone number used during the calls, according to court records.
The caller gave the dispatcher a different name. She said the child was between 2 and 3 years old and that the door would be unlocked.
“I came to check in and the parent wasn’t here,” she said.
“She’s been alone?” the dispatcher said.
“Yeah,” the caller replied.
When police arrived, no one answered the door but it was unlocked. Concerned for the child, police entered the apartment, according to a statement from the Fairborn Police Department.
“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,” the statement read.
The child was on her back on the floor of a rear bedroom in the fetal position. She “appeared extremely malnourished and had obvious bug bites,” an affidavit stated.
Muballigh apparently left in an Uber when police arrived, but officers were able to reach her by phone and convince her to return. At about 3:20 p.m., she came back and was taken into custody, the court document read.
The apartment was described as 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. Inside the refrigerator and freezer were visible dead bugs and moldy food,” the affidavit stated.
The child was found in a room with a soiled mattress that had a matted blanket soiled with feces and throughout the room were numerous empty pediatric nutrition and protein drinks, and a decaying mouse was on the living room couch cushion, according to documents.
Muballigh reportedly told police she suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and is unable to properly care for her daughter or the apartment because she sleeps all day. Also, she told police she used a false name when calling 911 because she was afraid, the affidavit stated.
The apartment was condemned by the Fairborn Department of Code Enforcement, police said.
Muballigh remains in the Greene County Jail.
Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes recommended that bond be set at $250,000 and said the case would be presented to a grand jury on Jan. 17 for consideration of charges.
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