A Minnesota mom will spend less than four years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter after she and her husband refused to take their 9-year-old daughter to a hospital during a severe asthma attack.

Prosecutors said Rachel and Anthony Modrow opted to put the girl into a steam bath and use “home remedies” instead after she began the attack during a sleepover with friends in February 2024.

“[The friend’s mom] drove victim home and told the defendants that she could take victim to a doctor, but the defendants refused the offer,” a criminal complaint says, according to Law&Crime. “[The friend’s mom] reported that victim was wheezing, breathing heavily … skin was blue … could not raise her arms … and she was crying.”

The girl had brought her grandmother’s inhaler to the friend’s house for the sleepover, but it wasn’t helping. Once back home, Anthony Modrow told police they used a rescue inhaler and the asthma drug Advair “with no success” and then went for “home remedies, such as a steam bath, with no effect,” the complaint said.

A family friend at the couple’s house ultimately called 911. Medics took the girl to a hospital, where she was kept in an intensive care unit for a week. Doctors eventually declared her brain dead from the lack of oxygen during the asthma attack.

“Multiple doctors were consulted, including a Pediatric Critical Care doctor, who stated that victim would have had a much better chance to survive with earlier medical intervention and explained how important early medical intervention is for asthma,” the complaint says. “The doctor noted that a steam bath is not a recognized treatment for asthma. The doctor emphasized the importance of an asthma patient having a rescue inhaler and noted that using another person’s inhaler may not be effective because it may not contain the proper medication. Another medical professional, who treated victim in the hospital, stated the sooner the medical treatment, the better the outcome.”

The Modrows were charged in their daughter’s death in April 2024, KSTP reported.

Rachel Modrow was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Anthony Modrow’s trial is set to begin on January 27.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: Anthony and Rachel Modrow/Hennepin County Jail]