Charges: Twin Cities woman starved boy, 3, before he died; all 5 children underfed

A Twin Cities woman has been charged in the death of one of her five children, a 3-year-old who collapsed two years ago and died after all of the children were barely fed, prosecutors say.

Saynab Abdullahi Dahir, 35, of Burnsville was charged July 8 in Dakota County District Court with one count each of second-degree manslaughter and harassment, and four counts of child endangerment.

Adnan Abdullahi collapsed in an Eden Prairie park on June 4, 2023, and died in a hospital on July 13, the charges read. Adnan weighed 25 pounds when he died.

Dahir’s other children, ages 5 through 9 at the time, were put in their father’s care after his return from an extended international trip, according to the charges.

The parents were divorced four months ago, and he has sole custody of the children, according to court records.

Dahir was arrested on July 10 and posted bond five days later. She is due in court on Monday. A message was left Thursday with her attorney seeking comment.

According to the complaint:

First responders said he was “thin and showed signs of dehydration. [The boy] appeared malnourished, [with] ribs clearly visible, joints quite swollen and very poor limb development.“

They also said he had missing and broken teeth.

Dahir told first responders that Adnan had been sick for about a week and had not been eating solids for the past two days. She said he had been tired but thought he was getting better.

She said she took the children to the beach at the park to help him “sweat out” the illness.

Believing he was dehydrated, Dahir said, she gave him a sip of water. His eyes soon rolled back, and she cried out for help. A bystander called 911.

Dahir told investigators that she doesn’t take her children to their routine medical checkups because she’s busy with them. She also said Adnan had a limited vocabulary for a 3-year-old.

During her visits to the hospital, Dahir repeatedly interfered with her son’s medical equipment until medical staff intervened. She also pushed on his chest, putting pressure on his airway. Eventually, the hospital would not allow her to be in the room alone with her son.

Adnan never regained consciousness. An autopsy determined he died from lack of oxygen to the brain after his cardiac arrest and from bacterial infection.

Malnutrition and a urinary tract infection were listed as contributing factors to his death.

“A pediatric child abuse specialist reviewed [Adnan’s] medical records and advised that [his] severe malnutrition significantly increased the likelihood of the infections noted in the autopsy report and significantly increased his risk for a severe or fatal outcome,” the complaint read.

He said their mother forced the children to vomit if they gained weight. One child said the forced vomiting had been going on for years. The children said their mother forced Adnan to vomit even after he collapsed at the park.

Two other children said they ate more food at the father’s home than when they were with their mother.