Parents charged as 9-year-old killed by asthma after 'failing to refill inhaler'

20 April 2024 , 22:05

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Amy sadly died after a week in hospital, and her parents have now been charged with her death

A little girl has died after her parents failed to refill her inhaler - and instead ran her a bath as she turned blue.

Amy Lynn Modrow, nine, died on February 17 after a week in the ICU at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis where she was declared brain dead. Parents Anthony and Rachel Modrow, both 34, were charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday and were accused of negligence that caused their little girl's death.

As she lay dying in her hospital bed, Anthony and Rachel documented her condition on social media as they 'pleaded' for donations, and while they managed to raise a staggering $10,000 online, it was found that Anthony allegedly hadn't refilled her asthma inhaler for a month. As they should have called an ambulance, Rachel instead ran her daughter a 'chicken nugget' steam bath while she turned blue.

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Her father Anthony Modrow was aware her inhaler was empty a month before her death (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

Amy's mother Rachel Modrow ran her a bath while she was blue (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

During the time Amy was in ICU, Rachel took to X and wrote: "My children is fighting for her life after a severe asthma attack. Help us," as reported by Mail Online. After Amy died, Rachel then wrote another tweet, this time tagging professional wrestler Rebecca Quinn and telling her friends "let's get this message seen".

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Another post said: "My 9-year-old just passed away, she was one of your biggest fans. You made such an impact on her. You were her hero. Thank you for giving her someone to look up to. She always wanted to go to Wrestlemania," along with a distressing photo of Amy in the hospital while hooked up to machines and a tube in her mouth.

Dad Anthony also took to social media to share his grief between his daughter's death and his arrest. He shared a post on Facebook and wrote: "It's official Amy hasn't had any sedation and hasn't woke up. She is brain-dead. They giving her till Sunday for organ donation. I need to go home hurts so much. I said goodbye.

Then he wrote another post on March 25 and said: "Going to my job with the kids and Amy's memories hurts. Going home to where she died. I'm not doing well. Use[d] to be a proud homeowner. Now I rather look into selling and look at the bus build I should have been doing after Amy graduated. My house is eating me alive."

Rachel took to social media to raise money online for her daughter (gofund.me/7aef6158)

Amy's asthma attack started on February 9, while at a friend's house for a sleepover. Her friend's mother raised concern when she she saw how unwell Amy became the next morning and realised her inhaler, prescribed in her grandmother's name, wasn't helping, so called Anthony.

According to court documents, Anthony "sighed and handed the phone to his wife" who told her to bring Amy home. However, the friend's mother said Amy "was not faking" the asthma attack - and offered to take her to the doctor - but the idea was rejected by Amy's parents.

It was then found that Amy texted her mother at 7:09 am asking for medication, and by the time she got home at 7:30 am, she had worsened and was wheezing, struggling to breathe, could hardly walk and wanted to see a doctor. However, Rachel didn't act on this until 10am, when she asked a family friend to come and see her.

Court documents alleged that when the friend had arrived, Amy was blue, she was unable to raise her arms and was crying. All Rachel had done was run her a bath. The friend insisted she needed to go to the hospital and carried her to the apartment building car park and called 911 - at 10:40 am. Paramedics then arrived at 10:57 and rushed her to hospital.

Anthony claimed Amy had told him a month before she died that her inhaler was empty, but he had never got it refilled for her. Prosecutors had said pediatric doctors said Amy would have had a "much better chance of survival" if she had medical attention immediately. They also noted that steam baths are not recognised as a treatment for asthma attacks. Anthony and Rachel faced court on Thursday where bail was set at $25,000 (£20,000) with a condition of house arrest if they posted it.

Niamh Kirk