A THREE-year-old tragically died after severe neglect left her with a deadly lice infestation and rotten teeth.

Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, 3, was forced to live in squalid conditions in an upstate New York apartment where investigators reportedly found bugs on her face and scalp.

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Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, 3, had a lice infestation so severe she developed anaemia Credit: New York State Senate

Her negligent parents were both sentenced to spend four years behind bars over the small child’s death Credit: Facebook/Samantha Dylewski

Her parents – Matthew Dylewski, 34, and Samantha Dylewski, 33 – have since been locked up for four years, following the bombshell discovery made by police.

An enraged judge threw the book at the disgraced pair after investigators said a cockroach fell out of the small child’s winter hat, as well as her teeth being “rotten and black”.

“You failed as a parent,” Saratoga County Judge James Davis said.

“Your entire job was to keep her safe.”

The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into Joycelynn Ann’s death after officers attended the Corinth home last February, following reports that she couldn’t breathe, CBS 6 reported.

She was then rushed to hospital where she later died.

Authorities say Joycelynn Ann had been suffering with a severe lice infestation that went untreated for weeks, possibly months, and ultimately led to her anaemia diagnosis.

The infestation caused her heart and other organs to be damaged.

Investigators also found that she had not received medical care in the 10 months prior to her death.

She had also been dosed with clonidine – a blood pressure medication – despite it not being prescribed to her, Saratoga County Sheriff Jeffrey Brown said.

Investigators say her death were rotten and black when they found her Credit: Facebook/Samantha Dylewski

The apartment the family lived in was so revolting it had to be condemned Credit: Facebook/Phoenix Property Maintenance

In a statement from New York State Senator Jim Tedisco, Joycelynn Ann had been killed due to a combination of these disturbing factors that had resulted from “acute and chronic neglect”.

“She was a three-year-old, and you failed in the most horrific way,” Judge Davis added.

“She was completely reliant upon you … This was completely preventable, and it’s unconscionable, and I want you to think about that fact.”

Investigators said the rooms of the apartment had been crammed with wall-to-wall garbage and debris, which Judge Davis later described as “deplorable and unsuitable for any child to be living in”.

The conditions were so revolting the property had to be condemned, according to WRGB.

Earlier this year, the parents – who also share four other children – pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

“I totally wish that it didn’t happen,” Matthew Dylewski whined at his sentencing, according to local reports.

“I wish it would be that I died instead of my daughter. I still think that to this day … I constantly think about it. Nothing is ever going to change. I still want to die so I can be with her.”

Samantha added that: “As their mother, it’s my duty to protect them from harm, and I failed,” at her sentencing. 

The unfit duo were both hit with the maximum sentence and will spend four years behind bars.

Judge Davis handled both sentences.

“Your daughter suffered over a long period of time,” Davis said.

“Even the other children could see that she suffered because of your neglect.

“It’s a gift to have a child. You had several children, and all of them suffered at your hands.”

The pair have also been barred from having any contact with their four surviving children until 2038.

Senator Tedisco and other local lawmakers have since called for new state legislation, called “Joycelynn’s Law”.

The policy would increase the maximum prison sentence for those convicted of criminally negligent homicide of a child to 20 years to life.