Two Minnesota parents are now facing a decade behind bars after their nine-year-old daughter was left brain dead following an asthma attack.
Anthony and Rachel Modrow, both 34, now face one count of second-degree manslaughter for the alleged neglect of their daughter Amy Lynn Modrow.
They were both booked into Hennepin County jail last Wednesday (17 April) and made their first court appearance the following day (18 April).
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The Star Tribune reports that the parents are accused of ignoring Amy's health concerns as well as the advice of family and friends who told them to take her to the hospital when she started having the asthma attack.
Amy has difficulty breathing at a sleepover
According to court documents, Amy went to a friend's house for a sleepover on 9 February but was not feeling good.
Amy's friend told her own mother, who noticed the child was having difficulties breathing the following morning, and that it could be an asthma attack.
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The mother found the prescription for Amy's inhaler was actually under the name of her grandmother, with the child explaining she used it as her parents didn't have a car.
After noticing that the inhaler wasn't helping Amy, the mother called Anthony.
According to the charges, the child's father sighed and handed the phone to Rachel, who instructed the mother to bring Amy back home.
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At this point, the mother explained that little Amy was not acting up and even offered to take the child to the doctor to be seen to.
However, Anthony and Rachel reportedly declined her offer.
Parents run Amy a bath instead of taking her to hospital
At around 10am the following morning, a family friend received a call from Amy's aunt saying that the child needed medical assistance.
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After arriving at the Modrows' home, the family friend found Amy's skin to be blue and noted she wasn't able to raise her arms.
Rachel then ran a steam bath for her daughter, but the family friend urged her to take Amy to the hospital given her condition.
The family friend eventually called 911, with phone records showing that the call didn't come through until 10.40am, which was over three hours after Amy's parents were informed that their child was suffering with an asthma attack.
Local police and medics arrived at the scene, but they sadly could not find a pulse.
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Amy was later taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and officially declared brain dead due to a lack of oxygen on 17 February.
Speaking at Anthony's court appearance, Hennepin County Public Defender, Tanya Bishop said: "On the face of this, it looks like the line between the accident and charges is very fine.
"Of course, if he could go back in time there could be other steps he took to avoid this, but we're here now."
Rachel and Anthony could face up to 10 years behind bars and a $20,000 fine if they are convicted.
What to do if you're having an asthma attack
The NHS advises that if you think you're having an asthma attack, you should:
- Sit up straight – try to keep calm.
- Take one puff of your reliever inhaler (usually blue) every 30 to 60 seconds up to 10 puffs.
- If you feel worse at any point, or you do not feel better after 10 puffs, call 999 for an ambulance.
- If the ambulance has not arrived after 10 minutes and your symptoms are not improving, repeat step 2.
- If your symptoms are no better after repeating step 2, and the ambulance has still not arrived, contact 999 again immediately.
You can find out more here.
Rhiannon Ingle